Dubois back in Jets fold, for now

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This article was published 22/07/2022 (1158 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The latest chapter in the Pierre-Luc Dubois soap opera is an intriguing one.

With trade winds blowing and the rumour mill churning, Dubois opted Friday to accept his qualifying offer from the Winnipeg Jets and sign a one-year contract extension that will pay him US$6 million for the coming season. That represents a 20 per cent bump from his US $5 million AAV last year.

Don’t expect this to bring an end to the drama. The 24-year-old centre could still be on the move, and some will say his new deal actually makes that easier to occur. However, it ensures a contract dispute won’t carry over into training camp in September, which wouldn’t benefit Dubois or the Jets.

Dubois had a career-high 28 goals last year, along with 32 assists and 106 penalty minutes in 81 games.

Winnipeg would love to sign him to a long-term extension, but the Montreal native has indicated he wants to test the open market when he becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024. His agent, Pat Brisson, has indicated there’s a good chance that will be with his hometown Habs.

Dubois was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this off-season, but elected not to file for an independent hearing. That opened up the possibility of a team swooping in with an offer sheet. Now, that door is closed. It would appear Dubois believed this was the best course of action, with a short-term deal unlikely to come in at a higher salary.

However, the Jets are still faced with a tough decision. Do they maintain the status quo for now and re-visit the issue either at the trade deadline next February, or next summer when Dubois will once again be an RFA with arbitration rights and just one year away from potentially walking for nothing, just as Johnny Gaudreau did in Calgary?

Could they possibly change his mind and get his name on an eight-year extension? Or do they try to maximize his value and move on as quickly as possible from the foundational player they received only 18 months ago in exchange for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic, knowing he’s not long for this organization anyways?

If nothing else, the team potentially bought itself some extra time with Friday’s development.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE: The Jets inked two other RFAs on Friday, with much less fanfare.

Forward Jeff Malott signed a two-year, two-way deal that pays him US $762,500 in the NHL. The 25-year-old had 41 points (23 goals, 18 assists) in 62 games with the Manitoba Moose last year, and also skated in his first-ever big-league game.

Defenceman Johnathan Kovacevic signed a three-year pact that will pay him US $766,700 in the NHL. The 25-year-old had 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 62 games with the Moose last year, and also made his NHL debut by skating in four games with the Jets.

Winnipeg has three more RFAs left. Forward Mason Appleton is set for arbitration on Aug. 11 if a deal can’t be reached by then, while depth forward David Gustafsson and Moose defenceman Leon Gawanke also need to be re-signed.

PUMPED BY PROMOTION: Marty Johnston never made it to the NHL as a player, spending his career toiling in both the AHL and ECHL. But he got the call he’d been hoping for earlier this week, promoted to the big-leagues as a new assistant coach with the Jets.

“A pretty special moment for me and the family, for sure,” Johnston told the Free Press on Friday.

The 43-year-old from Ontario, who has spent the past five years in that role with the Moose, got his first taste last winter, joining the Jets for a five-game stretch when associate coach Jamie Kompon was spending time with family following the death of his father.

“I think what those games did was sort of reassure me that it’s the same game and I feel confident in my abilities to coach at that level,” said Johnston. “I’m grateful for that opportunity. And certainly, it’s something where I’m going to build on some of the relationships that I already have with the players and then establish some new ones with some of the guys that are able to move up a level.”

Johnston will work beside head coach Rick Bowness, associate coach Scott Arniel and fellow assistant Brad Lauer. All three have extensive NHL experience as players and coaches.

“For me, coming into it with not very much experience and having an interview with a guy that’s been in the NHL for 30 plus years (Bowness), he put me at ease. He has a way about him where he wants people to feel comfortable. I think he’s really a glass half full kind of person,” said Johnston. “I’ve had a number of people reach out, just telling me how fortunate I am to be to be able to work with somebody like Rick Bowness.”

Johnston hopes he can carry some of the magic up from last year’s Moose club, which was riddled with injuries and call-ups and a lack of star power but still ended up being one of the best clubs in the AHL.

“We knew we didn’t have a superstar, but we had a lot of depth and that really helped us get through those trenches and succeed in a tough schedule,” he said. “It was great. It was about just trying to make the players better and it was a really good environment for not only players but also coaches.”

Johnston said the new staff hasn’t been together in person, but that’s on the horizon. They’ll map out ideas and systems and formulate a plan for training camp, which begins in September.

“The messaging that we’ve had so far is that we all provide fresh perspectives, and we’re really embracing that opportunity to kind of get together and have different viewpoints on how we’re going to go about things,” said Johnston. “I think it’s going to be a really good mix in terms of our group.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg