3 Rumored Trade Destinations For Jets' Dubois

It seems inevitable that the Winnipeg Jets are going to trade Pierre-Luc Dubois this offseason despite their best efforts to convince him to stick around long-term. The team appears to be set to fall apart, and the dominos are going to start to fall once Dubois is dealt. Since he would only be awarded a one-year deal in arbitration and then become a UFA after next season, the Jets are in a time crunch to find a trade partner so that the team acquiring him has the option of signing him long-term and the return would be much better.

Ken Weebe listed the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, and Montreal Canadiens as potential trade destinations. We'll get into the fit in each.

New York Rangers

The Rangers will likely be looking for one top-six player to bolster their lineup as it is unlikely Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane come back unless they want to take fairly big pay cuts to do so. With Alexis Lafreniere or Kaapo Kakko on the trade block, Dubois, a centerman, could come in and move Vincent Trocheck over to the wing. Even if Dubois isn't looking to sign long-term in New York, the Rangers will have a good top-six player they would see as a year-long rental to make another run at the Stanley Cup.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings is an odd one to me and doesn't make much sense. Anze Kopitar and Philip Danault are both natural centers and very good two-way players from that position. Dubois is also a natural center and plays that position. On top of there not being much room to work with cap-wise after they address the potential holes on the 2LD and in net, the Kings have some formidable wingers still under contract through to at least the end of next season. I'd count LA out of the running for Dubois unless they swap him with Danault and get Dubois signed long-term.

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens has been the place to watch for involving Dubois. He has made it clear he wants to end up there, and he's one year away from being able to make that decision. The Canadiens would really benefit from a 1-2 punch of Nick Suzuki and Dubois, and we know that he wants to sign there long-term. The Habs have the inside track and it would be a shock if Dubois does end up anywhere but Montreal.