Maurice has plan for Dubois

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This article was published 28/01/2021 (1902 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets have yet to see their new, shiny toy hit the ice, as recently acquired centre Pierre-Luc Dubois continues his 14-day quarantine since arriving via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With more than a week of isolation still to go, Jets head coach Paul Maurice already has a plan in the works for his new player. He’s just not willing to get too specific right now.

“We’re mindful to the fact we’re somewhere between seven and 14 days away from having to deal with that and a bunch of things may change. And then, you would look at things that you really like, not wanting to disrupt that,” Maurice said after practice Thursday.

“I’ve got a spot for him when everybody is healthy. If all of the lines are playing well, I’ve got an idea of where he goes. If one of the lines is struggling, I’ve got an idea of where he goes. We’ll kind of just get to the day he’s back on the ice, get him back up to speed and then whoever is going will stay together and whoever needs some help, that’s probably where he’ll go.”

WHAT HAPPENED IN VEGAS: Maurice was asked if there were any lessons to be taken from news this week that a member of the Vegas Golden Knights coaching staff had contracted COVID-19. The entire coaching staff was forced into isolation as a result, leaving general manager — and former owner of the Brandon Wheat Kings — Kelly McCrimmon to run the bench for Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.

On Thursday, the NHL announced that a player, as well as another member of the coaching staff, had tested positive. This time, though, they cancelled Thursday’s rematch against the Blues.

“The first time we dealt with it here, you realized that you’ve got to do everything that you possibly can. It’s not even so much that — obviously you don’t want to catch the virus — but you also want to be able to come to work if somebody around you has. So, we’re really paranoid about that idea of kind of being in the proximity group, where you’re testing negative but because you spent too long talking to a guy without a mask that you don’t get to go to work. We’re heavy on the masks and we’re heavy on the hand sanitizer and we don’t like to sit around each other more than 15 minutes at a time.”

The Jets have had two players — forward Nikolaj Ehlers and defenceman Tucker Poolman — enter the league’s COVID protocols. Ehlers turned out not to have the coronavirus, allowing him to miss just one day. Poolman entered the protocol on Jan. 16 and remains there, with no update on his status.

FITTING IN: The Jets’ pick at No. 10 in October’s NHL draft, Cole Perfetti, took part in his first NHL practice. The 19-year-old even stayed later with the taxi squad, resulting in more than two hours on the ice Thursday.

“Going from junior hockey, it’s a big difference. Coming here, I was just trying to take it all in as soon as I stepped on the ice. You’re playing with guys in the National Hockey League. Some of the best players in the world,” he said. “I just wanted to come in and work hard and kind of soak it all in. That was my first skate in the NHL and I’ll never forget that.”

While his hockey IQ and stick skills were evident during the World Juniors over the holiday season, what stuck out Thursday was something less technical. Perfetti was donning No. 91 — a number he selected and wore in junior, meaning the youngster has seemingly bypassed the ritual of having to “earn” his real number as a rookie.

Here’s the story behind 91: “Back in the day, when I was like four or five, John Tavares played in Oshawa and at the time we were billeting Andy Andreoff of the Oshawa Generals,” Perfetti said. “He (Tavares) was just the superstar of the league when I was watching and the first year I got to pick 91, that was the number I wanted to be after him and it just stuck from there.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @jeffkhamilton