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Pierre-Luc Dubois

Winnipeg Jets Acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois For Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic

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Morning has arrived and with it the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade that was reported as imminent yesterday. The Winnipeg Jets, considered the favorite late last night, have completed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets to add the cornerstone center, as first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger. The club has parted ways with two disgruntled young pieces of their own: winger Patrik Laine, selected one spot ahead of Dubois in 2016, and RFA center Jack Roslovic, a Columbus native. The Jets also receive a 2022 third-round pick alongside Dubois. Both teams have confirmed the trade.

The Jets have retained 26% of Laine’s salary for the final year of his current contract, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli, bringing his cap hit down to $4.995MM and making the cap exchange of the two players even given Dubois’ $5MM AAV. Of course, Roslovic will also contribute to the Blue Jackets’ cap and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he has already agreed to a two-year contract. Colleague Chris Johnston believes Roslovic’s new deal carries a $1.9MM AAV; PuckPedia adds that the breakdown is as follows:

2020-21: $1.3MM
2021-22: $2.5MM

The qualifying offer at the end of the deal will be $2.28MM, the lower of 120% of the AAV and the final-year salary.  It’s also worth noting that with the contract being signed in-season, the AAV will vary each year.  This season, the cap charge will be just under $2.018MM while next season, the charge will be a little under $1.844MM.

There seemed to be too much in common between these two clubs for this not to be the eventual deal that ended the Dubois saga in Columbus. Dubois and Laine are a very similar caliber of player, with almost identical draft billing and both currently playing on bridge deals. Both were also not content with their current surroundings. Then there is Roslovic, who was an unsigned restricted free agent still living at home in Columbus early on this season. Perhaps the most disgruntled of all, Roslovic likely could not be happier with staying home. Dubois also has ties to the city of Winnipeg and the organization as his father, Eric Dubois, serves as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Manitoba Moose and his parents live there year-round.

With that said, Columbus’ own beat writer for The Athletic, Aaron Portzline, was skeptical that Laine and Roslovic would be headed to Columbus without another substantial sweetener alongside Dubois. He noted that the Jets were also thought to be seeking a defenseman, an area of strength on the Blue Jackets’ organizational depth chart. Not only did Columbus succeed in making this deal without giving up a Vladislav Gavrikov but they also held on to young blue liners like Andrew Peeke and Gabriel Carlsson at the cost of a third-rounder.

All things considered, the Blue Jackets make out very well in this trade. Dubois is a tough piece to give up, but there is a very strong argument to be made that Laine is the best player in the deal. The big, sniping winger has notched 140 goals and 250 points in 306 NHL games, finishing in the top ten league-wide in goal scoring twice in just four seasons. The 2017 All-Star is one of the most dangerous shooters and power play assets on the planet and should help to bring along some of Columbus’ young centers. That now includes Roslovic, who is 23 years old just like Dubois and Laine and a first-round pick as well. The young pivot has shown flashes of high-end ability and will finally land a permanent top-nine role in Columbus. Of course, the final judgement on the deal will have to wait a couple of years. The Blue Jackets have struggled to retain top talent and head coach John Tortorella has a history of clashing with players, so how contract negotiations play out between the team and Laine (and potentially Roslovic as well) will dictate how successful this move was for Columbus’ long-term success.

As for Winnipeg, the team adds yet another skilled center to a roster that was already deep on the wing and now has the talent to match down the middle. Dubois has recorded 159 points in 239 NHL games, not including a 2020 postseason where he tallied ten points in ten games and averaged nearly 23 minutes per night. While Dubois will miss some time with a mandatory 14-day quarantine, Laine was out of action on injured reserve anyhow. Once Dubois joins the Jets, who have the second-best record in the North Division early on, the team could be primed for a strong season and playoff success. They also will have nearly two seasons to evaluate Dubois before he needs a new contract. The hope in Winnipeg is that playing closer to family and having more sustained success will be enough to keep Dubois content and committed to the club long-term.

While many sources believed that the Jets were the most likely team to wind up completing a deal for Dubois, they were not the only team still in pursuit. Friedman reported last night that the Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, and Montreal Canadiens were still very much in the mix. He added that the Ducks, a team chock full of talented prospects, were thought to have significantly improved their offer recently. Well-off contenders like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche were even been linked to the young forward, who has the makings of a long-term top-six center. In fact, TSN’s Frank Seravalli says that it is easier to name the teams who were not interested in Dubois and assume all other at least kicked the tires. That list of non-suitors includes the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vegas Golden Knights. Practically anyone else could have still made a competing offer in time, but with Laine and Roslovic on the table for the Jets, Winnipeg was always likely to come out on top.

Blue Jackets Closing In On Pierre-Luc Dubois Trade

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What a difference a day can make.  Following Pierre-Luc Dubois’ benching against Tampa Bay on Thursday which saw him post a career-low 3:55 of ice time, it appeared that trade chatter had started to pick up around the Columbus center.  Now, it appears that he could be getting his trade request granted in the very near future.  TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that the Blue Jackets are closing in on a Dubois trade with teams being notified that they’re no longer being considered.  He adds Winnipeg as one of the teams that’s still in the mix.

To that end, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic adds (via Twitter) that Columbus plans to make Dubois a healthy scratch for the rematch against the Lightning on Saturday if he’s still on the roster by then.

At this point, the situation is well-known.  While the two sides were able to agree on a two-year, $10MM bridge deal just before training camp, Dubois’ request to be dealt was not rescinded.  Although he claimed that he would continue to play hard while waiting for a resolution, that hasn’t happened yet, leading to what has become a very public benching.

The Jets have a pair of players who are believed to want out as well in wingers Patrik Laine and RFA Jack Roslovic; Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic suggests (Twitter link) that both players could make sense as being involved in the deal if they wind up being the eventual destination.  A return involving those players would certainly allow Columbus to yield a substantial return although it would create a sizable hole down the middle, a position that they’re already weak at.  Meanwhile, Winnipeg would lose some firepower on the wing but would get a controllable second center to put behind Mark Scheifele for the foreseeable future.

In a follow-up tweet, LeBrun adds that the Ducks also remain interested in Dubois.  They’ve had interest since this whole process began and would certainly give them a much-needed boost down the middle.  They have a little more than $6MM in LTIR room at the moment, per CapFriendly, but that amount will be reduced by $800K once Brendan Guhle returns.  That still leaves enough room to absorb Dubois but just barely.  Having said that, they’re not a great fit in terms of providing immediate value in a trade though their prospect pool has several high-quality prospects including center Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale.

In his report, Dreger notes that this is a complicated process which can mean several different things.  Depending on who is involved, there could be salary cap elements at play although a deal involving Laine and Dubois is something both teams can afford.  If there isn’t a center coming their way though, it’s possible that another move has to be agreed upon to give them one.  And, of course, there are quarantine issues to deal with and plan around with there being different rules in different jurisdictions.  Dreger suggests that these could be resolved as quickly as Saturday so Dubois’ poor showing last night could wind up being the impetus that ultimately gets a trade completed.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/22/21

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Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. The Los Angeles Kings are still listed as TBA, but the rest of the list is in:

Carolina – Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Dallas – Blake Comeau*
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Sam Gagner, Jon Merrill, Filip Zadina*
New Jersey – Jesper Bratt, Mackenzie Blackwood
Tampa Bay –  Curtis McElhinney
Washington – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Samsonov
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg, Tucker Poolman

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Juho Lammikko, Florida Panthers; Alex Stalock, Minnesota Wild

This is the first time that the Dallas Stars have been included on the list as they prepare to start their season tonight. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars, but Comeau is now the only player listed on the CPRA.

Koivu’s presence on the list does raise some questions since he returned to the optional practice the Blue Jackets held this morning. Perhaps this is simply an oversight and he will be removed, but for now it appears as though he is still in the COVID protocol.

Zadina joins a growing list of Red Wings on the list for the first time, now down five players. The team recalled Givani Smith earlier today, giving them another forward option for their game tonight.

*denotes new addition

Latest On Pierre-Luc Dubois

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“You’ll know when I bench somebody” was the retort from John Tortorella earlier this week when Pierre-Luc Dubois missed some shifts late in a Columbus Blue Jackets game. Well, he wasn’t lying. Dubois was stapled to the Columbus bench for the second, third, and overtime periods last night, leading to a career-low in ice time of just 3:55. He received just five shifts total and now isn’t sure whether he will be in the lineup for tomorrow’s Blue Jackets game.

You can imagine, when the rest of the league saw what was happening, it may have piqued their interest in the young forward. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who has been all over Dubois’ discontent since the beginning, tweets that the list of teams he believes have expressed interest include the Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Winnipeg Jets, Calgary Flames, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals and Arizona Coyotes. He explains that the list is not exhaustive but believes that the Blue Jackets would not do a “futures-only” deal for the disgruntled forward and that they want it to be a “hockey deal.”

It’s easy to blame Tortorella, who has had very public clashes with players in the past, but Dubois was certainly not playing up to his capabilities in the early part of the game either. In fact, the young forward told reporters including Jacob Myers of the Columbus Dispatch that he knows he could have been better through the first part of the season. It’s not hard to see how that reduced effort may scare some teams off, though the overall upside of a top-line center like Dubois will be difficult to overlook.

The simple fact is that something has turned rotten between player and organization, leading to a midseason trade seeming like an inevitability at this point. The 22-year-old forward has just one point through his first five games and carries a $5MM cap hit through 2021-22, after which he will still be a restricted free agent.

Lineup Notes: Dubois, Oilers, Blackhawks

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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella stated that star center Pierre-Luc Dubois’ trade request would not be a distraction for he or the team this season. In just their third game of the season, that may already be proving untrue. In Monday’s matinee against the Detroit Red Wings, Dubois was seemingly benched for the second half of the second period. He saw just one short shift in the final seven minutes of the frame. When he did play in the second, Dubois also skated on a makeshift fourth line for several shifts. However, it was Dubois who scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period and his usage returned to normal the rest of the way. Speaking with the media following the game, Tortorella underplayed Dubois’ usage, stating “You’ll know when I bench someone, don’t try to manifest something…” Given how candid Tortorella has been about the Dubois situation and not letting it become a distraction, there is some believability to his postgame comments. Yet, there was also no reason for Dubois to play so little late in the second, leaving questions of whether there will be continued mind games between coach and player until the trade request is finaly honored.

  • With just two points through their first three games, the Edmonton Oilers are off to a bit of a slow start. Head coach Dave Tippett was honest in his criticism of the team’s play following a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and with the Habs up again on Monday night, he has made a major change to his defense group. Ethan Bear, one of just three Oilers to play in every game in 2019-20, will be made a healthy scratch. Bear received a specific shout out from his coach for some poor play on Saturday and will take a seat as a result. It is a bold move by Tippett to bench a young, play-driving defenseman who looks to be a major piece for the Oilers’ future, but he hopes the move will inspire some better defensive decisions from Bear moving forward. In the same vein of improving defensively, Caleb Jones will also be scratched on Monday. A young, offensive-minded blue liner like Bear, Jones’ -4 rating is worst among Edmonton defensemen so far. In their place, veteran Kris Russell will draw into the lineup as will rookie William Lagesson. Lagesson has just eight games of NHL experience, with sheltered minutes and zero points no less, but the organization likes his balanced approach to the position and has stated that he will be given more opportunity this season.
  • Through three games – and three losses – it doesn’t look like Collin Delia or Malcolm Subban are ready to be the starter for the Chicago Blackhawks. The pair have allowed 15 goals against for nearly identical 5.00 goals against averages as well as matching save percentages of .848. When Chicago declined to add a veteran goaltender this off-season, it was clear that there would be some growing pains, but this is as bad a start as could have been expected. Enter Kevin Lankinen. Whether this was truly the plan from the start or in response to these early poor results, head coach Jeremy Colliton told the media today that the plan is a to have as close to an even split as possible between Delia, Subban, and Lankinen, with the current taxi squad keeper getting an opportunity soon. Lankinen has yet to make an NHL appearance through two seasons in North America and had just pedestrian AHL numbers last year. However, his performance as an AHL rookie and certainly his play in Finland’s Liiga earlier in his career inspire some hope. It seems Blackhawks fans will get a chance sooner rather than later to see if Lankinen can be an upgrade to their current tandem this season of it will simply be a rotation of three below-average goaltenders.

Snapshots: Quarantine, Lundqvist, Hoffman

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A lot of the focus for trade watchers right now is on Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Montreal Canadiens, but Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports pours some cold water on the wild speculation today, noting how difficult it will be for trades to be completed in-season. If Dubois—or anyone on a U.S.-based team for that matter—were to be acquired by the Canadiens, he’d face at minimum a 14-day quarantine. That means missing seven or eight games, a huge amount in a shortened 56-game schedule.

Still, for a player like Dubois who would be a core piece for the next several years, missing seven games doesn’t seem like it should really matter that much. If he does get traded midseason (which is far from a sure thing), dropping out of the bidding because of a two-week quarantine would probably be a mistake.

  • Henrik Lundqvist left the hospital yesterday after his open-heart procedure, tweeting out how happy he was to head home to his kids. The veteran goaltender will not play this season and instead is focusing on his health, though has not officially retired from playing yet. The Washington Capitals signed Craig Anderson this week and are using him instead as the third goaltender this season, while Lundqvist recovers from surgery. His one-year contract expires at the end of the season.
  • After getting his work visa issues dealt with, Mike Hoffman will be in the lineup for the St. Louis Blues this evening. He’ll be on the second line with Jaden Schwartz and Robert Thomas where he spent most of training camp. Sammy Blais, who is serving a two-game suspension, will come out of the lineup. Hoffman comes to St. Louis on a one-year deal to reset his free agent market after waiting nearly the entire offseason to sign.

Latest On Pierre-Luc Dubois

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The PLD-Watch is on, as NHL fans all over the world keep an eye on the Columbus Blue Jackets forward. Pierre-Luc Dubois, who broke out last summer in the bubble by showing the entire league that he can hang with the elite players in the game, has asked for a trade out of Columbus. According to his head coach John Tortorella, the reasons for his request still aren’t clear, but it means teams all around the league are calling GM Jarmo Kekalainen to see what it would cost to acquire the 22-year-old center.

Almost everyone’s immediate thought was the Montreal Canadiens, who have been searching for a French-Canadian star to build around for years. Perhaps that thinking got to Dubois too, as NHL insider Nick Kypreos tweets that the center’s “first destination choice” would be in Montreal. According to Kypreos the Blue Jackets have asked about Nick Suzuki and were told that Alexander Romanov has been deemed “untouchable.” Brian Hedger of the Columbus Post-Dispatch has heard a package around Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Victor Mete could be the ask, but notes that for the time being, Dubois figures to suit up for the Blue Jackets and center the top line tonight.

Remember that Dubois signed a two-year, $10MM contract just two weeks ago and will be a restricted free agent once again in the summer of 2022. His performance has been strong, clearly, but he did have just 49 points in 70 games during his third full NHL season in 2019-20. Suzuki, who was the 13th overall pick in 2017, scored 41 in 71 as a rookie last season, arguably looked like the Canadiens’ best forward in the bubble and again last night. He would certainly be a high price to pay, just as Kotkaniemi, the third-overall pick from 2018 would be.

The problem for Montreal would be that the Blue Jackets figure to have up to two-thirds of the league checking in on Dubois. The Blue Jackets have made clear that they’re not rushing to get him out the door and a low-ball offer is not expected to get much traction.

For now, the Blue Jackets will have Dubois in the middle of the ice when they start their season in Nashville this evening. None of the speculation on his trade market will matter when the puck drops. At least not until the final whistle sounds.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Trade Rumors: Dubois, Byron, Dumba

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The Pierre-Luc Dubois saga in Columbus took a another turn on Wednesday, as always-candid head coach John Tortorella appeared in an interview on 97.1 The Fan and did not hold back in his commentary on the situation surrounding his young forward. While he has not officially requested a trade from the Blue Jackets, contract negotiations with Dubois did not go well and the team has been led to believe that he would prefer a change of scenery. Tortorella took a more direct approach, outright confirming that this is the case:

Yeah, he wants out. He spoke to the team, as we do here. It’s a little bit different than (departed 2019 free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky) were. This is a 22-year-old kid. It doesn’t happen that often, so he has been honest with the group.

Yet, Tortorella is not content with the explanations (or lack thereof) that Dubois has provided he and others. He remains unclear as to what has changed in the talented center, who looked like a budding superstar and long-term cornerstone in Columbus just months ago in the postseason. And if the coach himself is to blame, it doesn’t seem like Tortorella is willing to let that change his style or impact his locker room.

 I wish he was a little bit more honest as far as reasons why. I still haven’t really gotten to that, but I think he needs to speak on that… I think that (conflict) is a really good thing in developing a hockey player.  Now ’Luc’ may not think that. Sometimes these players, especially today’s athletes, think, ’You’re too hard on me, you’re picking on me’ and this and that. Maybe it’s too hard for him. I don’t know. I haven’t been given a reason why he wants to leave. He certainly hasn’t said it to me that ’I don’t want to play for you.’ I think if that’s the reason he should tell me, and he should really basically get in front of it and get up out of here. That’s just the way I think you should do business in this stuff here. There’s no sense of people trying to figure out what’s going on. Let’s get in front of it here and get about our business and try to be the best team we can be… It’s a short leash with me as far as this is concerned. He needs to continue to do the things to help this team win and be the best teammate he can be, or I’m not sure where it goes. It’s a situation and we’ll go to it day by day.

Tortorella’s very public and very honest take on Dubois is not going to make the situation any better, even if the coach is not to blame for the trade request. Initial reports stated that the Blue Jackets may take their time to deal Dubois, waiting to maximize the return as best they can while he hopefully continues to contribute on the ice. However, if the locker room becomes too toxic with a top player at odds with the head coach and openly opposed to any future with the organization, this situation may need a resolution sooner rather than later. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that suitors are already serious about adding Dubois, so if the Blue Jackets need to make a quick trade, they will still have plenty of offers to choose from.

  • The Montreal Canadiens were able to get under the salary cap ceiling, but it was a tight fit. CapFriendly shows the club with only $708K in space for just a 21-man roster. If the Habs want the flexibility to even field a full roster never mind make a trade addition this season, someone has to go. Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that the name being whispered is that of Paul Byron. Byron has been a loyal soldier for Montreal over the past five years and has developed into one of the club’s locker room leaders. However, the Canadiens’ off-season additions of Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli and the emergence of youngsters Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have pushed Byron into a seemingly permanent bottom-six role. In fact, Byron played on the team’s fourth line throughout training camp and in Wednesday’s season opener. At a $3.4MM AAV through 2022-23, Byron is an expensive piece to be playing a checking role. The 31-year-old winger has not been durable either over the past couple of seasons either and may be ill-suited for his new position. Byron has scored at nearly a half-point per-game pace over the past four seasons combined and would be more valuable to another team that is able and willing to keep him in a scoring role. The question is whether that destination exists and, if so, will the Habs ultimately pull the trigger on dealing away a respected veteran.
  • One player enjoying the spotlight of rumor mill being off him for now is Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. Dumba has heard the noise for more than a year now, but remains with the Wild; and the talented blue liner is happy about that, he tells TwinCities.com’s Dane Mizutani. Mizutani is not the only one that Dumba has confided in, either. He has also gone directly to GM Bill Guerin and stated that he would like to remain with the team. Guerin will certainly listen to one of his best players, but he has to listen to offers as well with the threat of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft looming. With fellow top-four defenders Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin all holding No-Movement Clauses in their current contracts and requiring protection from the expansion draft, Dumba would be the odd man out in the standard 7-3 protection scheme. Minnesota will definitely not allow the Seattle Kraken to acquire Dumba for free though, which has prompted his placement on the trade block. However, if Dumba can back up his desire to remain with the Wild with a strong 2020-21 campaign, Guerin may decide to go with the 8-skater protection scheme and expose three forwards rather than the skilled defenseman.

Snapshots: Dubois, Sweden, Manitoba

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Though they haven’t commented on it, the overwhelming feeling after recent reports is that the Columbus Blue Jackets will have to trade Pierre-Luc Dubois at some point. The young center has requested a change of scenery and that kind of thing rarely seems to change, meaning GM Jarmo Kekalainen’s phone will likely be ringing all year long.

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has compiled a list of what he believes would be the seven best suitors, while also noting that he believes at least two-thirds of the league will check-in. Snuck into the bottom of the Dubois piece is also a note on Gabriel Landeskog, noting that the Colorado Avalanche captain is hoping to sign another long-term deal with the team in order to spend his entire career there.

  • Sweden has shut down its junior leagues for the rest of the season, ending any chance that scouts have to see some of the prospects for the 2021 draft. Many of those names could make an appearance at the pro level in the coming months if they haven’t already.
  • Like Ontario earlier this week, Manitoba has finally given its blessing to the Winnipeg Jets to host NHL games this season. The province joins the four others that house NHL franchises in allowing the professional league to continue, without fans, for the time being. That exemption was the final hurdle for the All-Canadian division, though the league had previously expressed confidence that they would receive permission from all five provinces.

Snapshots: Laine, Dubois, Barzal, Kunin

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Training camp is underway all across the league and with it comes vast speculation on the future of discontented young stars. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reached out to several front office executives for their take on the Pierre-Luc Dubois and Patrik Laine situations, which are seemingly destined for trades at some point down the line. Both Dubois and Laine have expressed a desire for a “change of scenery,” though both are under contract and reported to Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets camps respectively.

That speculation seems to all lead to one point, and that is the team trading the best player in a deal is usually the one that loses. Columbus and Winnipeg will both have an extremely tough time winning any trade that includes Dubois or Laine (although, swapping them directly has also been mentioned).

  • At least Dubois and Laine have contracts, which can’t be said about Mathew Barzal as New York Islanders camp opened today. Barzal was on the team’s training camp roster but not on the ice, and Arthur Staple of The Athletic updates the situation with his report that talks continue between the two sides. Head coach Barry Trotz spun the news in a different direction, noting that while Barzal is out there is an opportunity for other players to impress.
  • Barzal has a spot locked up whenever he returns, but an absence may not be so beneficial to Luke Kunin, who is still without a contract with his new team, the Nashville Predators. Kunin will not report to Predators camp without one, according to Adam Vingan of The Athletic, though the team remains hopeful a deal will be made soon. The 23-year-old forward arrived in a trade from the Minnesota Wild earlier this offseason after finally establishing himself as a full-time NHL player last year, scoring 31 points in 63 games.

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