As you know, the Winnipeg Jets found themselves with a hot potato on their hands when Pierre-Luc Dubois came to them asking to be traded.
He got what he wanted, heading to Los Angeles and landing a nice little $68 million contract in the process.
The situation changed rapidly. After all, if many thought the Habs could just wait until 2024 to sign him without giving anything to the Jets, that all changed when Dubois said he was open to signing elsewhere than Montreal.
Wanting to sign for eight years right away put too much pressure on the Habs, who didn’t have what it took to satisfy the Jets and their desire to remain competitive.
In the end, the Habs didn’t necessarily want to give the Jets what they wanted, nor did they want to give Dubois what he was asking for in terms of salary per year – and for eight years.
If the CH is open to giving a guy at least eight million dollars a year someday, it didn’t seem certain it would do it for Dubois.
EF on Dubois (32TP): “I am not convinced the Canadiens wanted to do that contract…I just think the Habs had some prospects that were asked about there & they absolutely refused to do it and I think at the end of the day they just said we don’t think this is the right fit for us”
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) June 28, 2023
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But it seems that the CH really wasn’t ” the team that wanted him the most “, because even in the other aspect – the price to be paid to the Jets – there seemed to be a problem.
According to Elliotte Friedman, the Jets were prepared not to necessarily ask the Habs for established players, since the club doesn’t have any interesting players for such a deal.
Wednesday morning 32 Thoughts news pod…also featuring a quick chat with Nashville GM Barry Trotz. Links to your preferred platform here: https://t.co/io7Mr1QEpm Enjoy!
– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 28, 2023
If the Jets did this, it wasn’t out of Christian charity or to help Dubois get home.
The reality is that the Jets really like some of the Habs’ prospects and would have been willing to deviate from their plan to pick up specific guys in Montreal. That said, Hughes didn’t want to part with the youngsters in question for Dubois, and he said no.
Extension
When you put it like that, you can understand the Dubois clan thinking that no, the Habs may not indeed have been the club that wanted him the most.
And an NHL star player likes to feel wanted.