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Good morning, folks.
Well, that was quite a weekend. I feel like I need a day off now.
First things first. There’s an old adage in sports that the team that gets the best player in a trade, wins the trade. Well in my opinion, the Jets won big by landing Pierre-Luc Dubois early Saturday morning.
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It serves no purpose now for me to dissect the pros and cons of Patrick Laine’s play and his approach to his career other than to say, I’ve never been a huge fan of his overall game or his commitment to improving it — although that may have changed lately. Time will tell.
Winnipeg Jets’ Patrik Laine looks on during the first day of the Jets NHL summer training camp as the NHL reopens during COVID-19 in Winnipeg, Monday, July 13, 2020. The Jets have placed forwards Laine and Nate Thompson on injured reserve. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods
I have said on several occasions that the team should deal him while his value is high and Mike McIntyre and I have debated on our Jetcetera podcast whether a top pairing defenceman or a second-line centre should have been the target in such a deal. Had I known the centre was going to be Dubois, I would have deferrred immediately to Mike’s assessment.
That Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff was able to use the Laine chip and pounce on the availability of Dubois was bold and shrewd.
Don’t just take my word for it: in a story by The Athletic‘s Pierre LeBrun, he canvassed 10 NHL executives and not one of them said Columbus got the best of this deal.
You may think Chevy got swindled having to toss in Jack Roslovic and only getting a draft pick in return, but keep in mind that the Jets were not the only team in pursuit of Dubois. While the Blue Jackets were in a position where they had to deal Dubois or fire head coach John Tortorella — I would have done the latter, by the way — they were still dealing from strength in that the demand was high. Hence, the price was, too.
Dubois is a big, strong, fast, play-driving centreman, who is an excellent 200-foot player. A top-line guy on a lot of teams, he now gives the Jets a set of centres that also includes Mark Scheifele, Paul Stastny and Adam Lowry. Not to mention 2018 second-round pick David Gustafsson, whose size and speed looked pretty good on Sunday vs the Oilers.
Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press FilesPierre-Luc Dubois is no stranger to Winnipeg as his parents live here and he quarantined here after last season was cancelled.
Dubois’ character has come into question as a result of his actions to get out of Columbus. You’ve seen Tortorella’s antics over the years, haven’t you? Frankly, I admire the young man for taking a stance and not putting up with the rantings of Torts. Who needs that in this day and age? That type of public berating of players should no longer be tolerated. In fact, it never should have been.
And then there’s this: Dubois’ father Eric is an assistant coach with the Manitoba Moose and Pierre-Luc quarantined here with his mom, dad and sister when the 2019-20 season was shut down, owing to the pandemic.
“It already feels like home,” he said of Winnipeg during a media availability on Sunday.
It sounds like he actually wants to be here.
Unlike Laine, who didn’t.
So, there’s that.
Who is to blame for Laine not wanting to be here anymore is another story.
Locker-room conflict? Playing time disagreements? Contract issues? Entitled and petulant personality?
All of the above? Something else?
The bottom line is he wanted out, and while some may be lamenting that Winnipeg never gets to have nice things, the only thing hockey fans in this town should really worry about is winning the ultimate nice thing — the Stanley Cup. The consensus‚ overwhelmingly I might add, suggests the Jets have a better chance of doing that now than they did before the weekend. I agree.
A picturesque view of the Red River on a snow Saturday afternoon.
So, about that walk… Bunn’s Creek Trail is lovely, folks. Our six-kilometre trek took us from the parking lot on McIvor, along a meandering trail, to the Red River and back.
A perfect two-hour sanctuary from Jets and Jackets on an unexpectedly newsy — rather than snoozy — Saturday afternoon.
As always folks, you can reach me by replying to this mailing or by sending me an email here.
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