TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger was on TSN Montreal 690 and not surprisingly was asked about Pierre-Luc Dubois. In the question he is asked it would appear to be referencing Elliotte Friedman’s 95% comment from the 32 Thoughts Podcast earlier this week indicating that the Quebec product will eventually end up as a member of the Habs (worth noting that Dreger thought the 95% was for this summer not at some point which is clarified later in the interview):
“Number one how do you put a number, how do you put a percentage on a player who’s under contract with another club leaving that club and then joining a very specific team, the Montréal Canadiens? Like 95% is a big percentage point so I chuckle at that. All I can tell you is that the Winnipeg Jets are going to do everything in their power to try to extend Pierre Luc Dubois. If it is Pierre-Luc Dubois’ wish to become a member of the Montréal Canadiens, do we really think that Kevin Cheveldayoff and the Winnipeg Jets are just going to gift Dubois to Montreal? So let’s start breaking apart what that looks like because based on what we saw from Rick Bowness post-game last night he is not happy with that group. He’s not happy. He’s not happy with Mark Scheifele. He’s not happy with Dubois. He’s not happy with Wheeler. Go down the list. That was pretty evident last night.
So if Dubois is to get moved by Winnipeg, what comes back in return? Montreal will have to pay a premium if they’re not willing to wait until he becomes a free agent. And then you’ve got the Mark Scheifele factor in Winnipeg with all sorts of rumblings that are just going to amplify between now and the end of the season if he doesn’t get it back on track. Is the time right to consider moving him? Well now you’re down your two primary centres in Winnipeg. How do you recoup that? I don’t think Winnipeg has the appetite to go into a full on renovation so they’re going to need quality assets coming back. Maybe you get that in a Scheifele trade. You certainly are going to need it in trying to replace Pierre Luc Dubois, because as I said 30 seconds ago, he is a priority sign in Winnipeg and if he decides he’s not going to extend in Winnipeg long-term, then I find it hard to believe that the Winnipeg Jets will just simply slide him into Montreal. It won’t be that easy.”
He was asked more about the situation in Winnipeg which you can listen to at the link provided below. One of the notable comments from him was:
“….I just see a significant overhaul coming in the offseason but again as we’ve already talked about where do you start and where does it end?…..Winnipeg could very quickly become one of the more intriguing stories in Canada in the offseason…”.
The Jets talk on the interview runs about ten minutes. You can listen to it here.
