MONTREAL — It’s a legitimate question that’s sure to be racing through Montreal Canadiens fans’ minds:
Will Tuesday’s game between the Winnipeg Jets and their team mark the last time they see Pierre-Luc Dubois skating in anything but bleu, blanc et rouge at the Bell Centre?
He’s the type of big centre fans in Montreal have been dreaming about for decades and, so long as he remains non-committal on a long-term contract extension with the Jets, the possibility of him soon suiting up in a Canadiens jersey remains open.
Before Dubois, there was Vincent Lecavalier—the 6-foot-4, 215-pound centre who was highly coveted by the Canadiens and their fans and rumoured to be coming for several years before he was traded to Montreal in a 2008 deal that ultimately got nixed by Tampa Bay Lightning owners.
On Monday, Dubois arrived with the Jets and held court with media at the Ritz Carlton Hotel to announce he was relaunching his takeover of Lecavalier’s charity, which helped fund hockey for underprivileged kids in Rimouski, Que., where Dubois grew up.
It had already been several years since the 6-foot-2, 205-pound centre born just an hour away from the Bell Centre in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Que., before living in Rimouski took over from Lecavalier as the most sought-after homegrown star in Montreal.
“It’s not something I was thinking about when I started this (philanthropic endeavour in 2020),” Dubois said after Winnipeg’s morning skate Tuesday.
But he knows the irony of him reaffirming his strong ties to Quebec on Monday—and taking over for Lecavalier in the cause while rumours continue to swirl at gale force about his future in Montreal—is too great to ignore.
The Canadiens made attempts to pry him out of Columbus when the former Blue Jackets third-overall pick asked to be traded in January of 2021, before he eventually went to the Jets for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic. And there was plenty of speculation—after agent Pat Brisson confirmed to TVA Sports Dubois wouldn’t sign beyond two years in Winnipeg and that Montreal is “a city he would like to play in”—they made another run at him last summer.
Now that the 24-year-old is a pending restricted free agent on an expiring $6-million contract and just one year away from possibly becoming an unrestricted free agent, the buzz of him joining the team he grew up cheering for is only going to ramp up between now and July.
Meanwhile, Dubois has had a breakout season with the Jets, accounting for 20 goals and 49 points in 44 games.
He said on Tuesday he won’t think about his next contract until summer rolls around and that he’s purely devoted to helping the Jets win this year’s Stanley Cup —something that appears realistic considering they enter their game against the Canadiens firing on all cylinders and owning the Western Conference’s best record (29-14-1).
The Jets don’t want to wait until then.
After Dubois’ availability, coach Rick Bowness was singing his praises. He’s placed him with premium wingers Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers, opened the door for him to assume more leadership, delighted in how he’s responded to all challenges, and is committed to convincing him to remain in Winnipeg beyond the rest of this season and the one to follow.
“I told him that when I got the job (this past July): ‘I’m going to do everything I can to help you stay in Winnipeg,’” the 67-year-old said.
Whether or not it works is up in the air, Bowness acknowledged.
“Time will tell on that,” he said. “That’s totally out of my control right now. He’s going to do what he wants to do, what’s best for him and his career. All I can do is tell him I’d love to see him be a Winnipeg Jet for a long time and I’ll do everything I can to keep him in a Winnipeg Jet uniform.”
If Bowness’ mission fails, calls for the Canadiens to trade for the player will only grow stronger in Quebec.
We’re not sure the team’s position on it will be all that different than it was last summer, when the price to acquire and sign Dubois seemed like it might have been too high for what he had delivered to date—he hadn’t recorded more than 61 points in any season—and where the Canadiens were at in their rebuilding process.
There’s precedent now for what the cost might look like this summer. Spoiler alert: It’s exorbitantly high.
When Matthew Tkachuk told the Flames last summer that he wouldn’t sign long-term in Calgary, just a year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent, he put general manager Brad Treliving in a spot where he had to choose between holding onto him and risking losing him for nothing at the end of the season versus working out a sign-and-trade.
Treliving signed Tkachuk to an eight-year, $76-million contract and traded him to the Florida Panthers for superstar Jonathan Huberdeau and top-four defenceman Mackenzie Weegar.
Granted Tkachuk produced 104 points last season, but, like Dubois, his previous career high was 61 before he busted out.
Dubois is currently on pace for 91 points this season, he’ll have an excellent opportunity to add to his 22 points in 33 playoff games when the Jets participate this spring, and you really have to wonder if the Canadiens would pay what it might take to acquire him via trade when the possibility he walks straight to them in free agency, in the summer of 2024, is as real as it appears to be.
None of that will stop Canadiens fans from pondering how Tuesday’s game might be the last one Dubois plays at the Bell Centre in a uniform that isn’t theirs.
