Aaron Portzline of the Athletic reports on a rumor swirling around the Blue Jackets and the long-term future of core defensemen Zach Werenski and Seth Jones.
The rumor is this: Pierre-Luc Dubois wanted out of Columbus because he saw a future where Werenski and Jones (who are both represented by Dubois’ agent Pat Brisson) get out of town at their first opportunity and didn’t want to be tied to the organization long-term for that reason.
Brisson, Werenski and Jones all denied the rumor to Portzline, saying that they would be willing to sign in Columbus. The extent we can take the denial at face value remains to be seen. That would be the expected response whether the defensemen were or weren’t willing to stay with the club.
The contracts of both defenseman expire after the 2021-22 season. Jones can be a UFA at that point and Werenski will have one RFA season left.
DeAngelo signed a 2-year deal with the Rangers last off-season with a $4.8 million cap hit after an incredibly strong offensive season. His 53 points were fourth among NHL defensemen.
DeAngelo has had an incredibly rough start to the 2020-21 season, however. He has 1 point in 6 games, and has been on the ice for 9 of the 16 5-on-5 goals the Rangers have allowed this season. He was also benched for two games for an undisciplined penalty. Vince Mercogliano reports the Rangers have grown tired of the headaches he’s caused them with this social media presence in the past.
Update: Coach David Quinn was asked to address rumors of a physical altercation after the Rangers’ 5-4 overtime loss last night, and he chose not to confirm nor deny.
Quinn on DeAngelo when asked by @ColinSNewsday about an incident last night: “There’s always rumors, I’m not gonna address rumors. This isn’t about one incident. It’s not about one thing.”
Update: Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic confirms that DeAngelo had an altercation with goaltender Alexandar Georgiev in the tunnel after last night’s overtime loss.
Oddly, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin calls the report untrue and says he isn’t trading Mete.
Mete has yet to crack the Montreal lineup this season, with newcomers Alexander Romanov and Joel Edmundson moving ahead of him on the depth chart at left defense. The 22-year old defenseman had 4 goals and 7 assists in 51 games last season.
Jeremy Rutherford of the Athletic dissects where the Blues and Vince Dunn sit following his healthy scratch on Tuesday night.
Rutherford notes that the Blues will need to clear some cap space from Vladimir Tarasenko is ready to return from long-term injury reserve and that it might be difficult to protect Dunn in the upcoming expansion draft with Justin Faulk, Torey Krug and Colton Parayko needing protection.
Rutherford also reports that it’s believed the Blues would be looking for a first-round pick, but wonders if they might accept a second. He suggests Philadelphia, Winnipeg and Vancouver might be interested in in Dunn.
Renaud Lavoie reports that St. Louis defenseman Vince Dunn is available for trade.
Vince Dunn is on the block. I know he doesn’t have the start that he wanted but at 24, with a cap hit of less than $2M, It could be a good fit elsewhere.
Dunn will be a RFA at the end of the season and is four seasons away from unrestricted free agency. He could be of interest to a number of teams, including the Bruins and Flyers, who could use help on the blueline.
Around 10 PM EST last night, Darren Dreger tweeted out a bomb that WPG were the front runners for CBJ F Pierre-Luc Dubois. About an hour later, it was revealed that Laine would be going the other way if a trade gets done, and a deal could be completed by tomorrow. Around 10:30 PM EST this morning, it happened. Dubois became a Winnipeg Jet, and Laine and F Jack Roslovic became a Columbus Blue Jacket. Time to wrap our head around this blockbuster trade.
Patrik Laine and Pierre-Luc Dubois were both drafted back-to-back 2nd and 3rd overall, respectively, by WPG and CBJ in 2016
OFFICIAL TRADE
WPG acquires F Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 3rd Round Pick
CBJ acquires F Patrik Laine and F Jack Roslovic
This trade is undoubtedly huge and definitely career changing for 3 players. One adds to an already incredible and solid future at the center position, and two add to an already good offense as well. Pierre-Luc Dubois is mainly a center, who will provide good stability on the second line with (assuming) Ehlers and Statsny. He adds to a great young center core, with him, Scheifele, and Cole Perfetti. That’ll be a dangerous team soon up the middle. As for Laine, I assume he will play with Atkinson and Domi. He could provide a great deal of goal scoring with his shooting skills, and with Atkinson, another great goal scorer on a line with him, they could become a pretty high scoring line (that is if Laine and Tortorella end up getting along). Roslovic will be perfect to have while Koivu is out, and when Koivu comes back, Roslovic can switch to win on the second or third line. I think he will have the best fit with his new team.
On who wins this trade? I would personally say CBJ here. I think that Laine and Tortorella will end up getting along here, and Laine will thrive with his great line of Domi and Atkinson, and Roslovic is a solid fit in Columbus, with his ability to play Center and Wing. He’s the middle top 6 player CBJ needed in my option. As of Winnipeg, I don’t see this trade being bad for them, but not as good as it will for CBJ. Dubois is a pretty good player, but I think he will get stuck behind Scheifele for most of his young career. Unless something wild like Scheifele struggles, or asks for a trade, I see CBJ being the most beneficial team from this trade.
TVA Sports relays a report from a podcast of Guillaume Latendresse and Maxim Lapierre that suggests that the Montreal Canadiens are planning on offering a 5-year contract worth $5 million per season to Phillip Danault.
They mention that Danault would be looking for a 6-year deal in the range of $5.5 to $5.7 million per season.
Danault, 27, is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent after the season. He is a strong even-strength producer and one of the best defensive forwards in the league. In 71 games last season, he had 13 goals and 34 assists.
Frank Seravalli reports that the Jets will be retaining 26% of Laine’s contract, which expires this off-season. With the salary retention, the cap-hits of Dubois and Laine essentially match each other, making the cap impact minimal.
The Jets and Blue Jackets likely won’t see any of their new players in their lineups for a number of weeks, as they will be required to quarantine after crossing the border.
Jack Roslovic, who was an unsigned RFA, has signed a new 2-year deal with the Blue Jackets, who will likely give him an opportunity to center one of their top three lines with Dubois’ departure opening up the spot.
It will be interesting to see how Dubois and Laine adjust to their new teams. One of the reasons it has been suggested that Dubois wanted out of Columbus is that he wanted a bigger stage and Winnipeg isn’t among the bigger stages in the league. It will also be interesting to see how Patrik Laine’s personality meshes with head coach John Tortorella’s.
