5:10 p.m.: The Jets have officially announced the extension.
3:40 p.m.: With his name heavily featured in trade rumors, Pierre-Luc Dubois has moved one step closer to an exit from Winnipeg. According to Darren Dreger of TSN, Dubois has opted to accept his one-year, $6 million qualifying offer before the upcoming deadline.
That means Dubois, at least for this summer, has opted not to sign a long-term deal with the Jets, as many expected. Dubois will be an unrestricted free agent in two years. Dubois’ representation has communicated the desire for his client to end up playing for the Montreal Canadiens, and Dubois attended the draft in Montreal because he believed a trade would be completed at the draft. That didn’t happen, though, so Dubois has now accepted his qualifying offer as a means of easing his departure from Winnipeg.
The Jets dealt two big players to acquire Dubois: Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic and did so because they believed a one-two punch at the center position of Dubois and Mark Scheifele would be the key to the next era of squads rivals of the Jets.
This pairing of Dubois and Scheifele doesn’t look like it will stick around for long, as the Jets will have to decide if they want to deal Dubois this summer or keep him on the roster in hopes that he changes his mind about staying at Winnipeg.