The Leafs have a chance to make a huge splash and acquire the negotiating rights to a highly-skilled restricted free agent
Free agency is approximately 3 weeks away and aside from some of the bigger contracts we'll see handed out on July 1st, we may also see some trades either on July 1st or at the draft just a few days prior. Of the players we can expect to see moved is Pierre-Luc Dubois, who is an RFA but is only a year away from UFA status.
Dubois signed a one-year contract with the Winnipeg Jets last summer, and it appears as though he won't want to extend with the team this summer
Dubois has only been traded once, in a deal that moved him from Columbus to Winnipeg in exchange for Patrik Laine. Ironically enough, Dubois and Laine were the 3rd and 2nd overall picks of the 2016 entry draft that saw Auston Matthews drafted 1st overall to Toronto.
Speaking of the Leafs, it would make sense for them to consider Dubois as a 2C, if the cost of acquisition is reasonable - and it should be. It's very public news that he wants out of Winnipeg, and he is, as mentioned above, only a year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent, which means the cost should be low. He's a nasty, big-bodied pivot who displays a great level of skill as well. Here's a clip from one of the Leafs vs. Jets matchups during the 2021-2022 season:
With the potential of the Leafs seeing Ryan O'Reilly walk during free agency, Dubois could be an excellent player to fill that 2C spot, as the Leafs look to shift captain John Tavares over to the wing next season.
Ultimately, even if the Leafs were to bring in Dubois knowing that he'd only be in Toronto for one season, it would be an excellent fit for the Buds, who are looking to change the identity of the team a bit and get away from being viewed as "the Core 4 plus 19 other guys".
| POLL | ||
8 JUIN | 437 ANSWERS The Leafs have a chance to make a huge splash and acquire the negotiating rights to a highly-skilled restricted free agent Is Pierre-Luc Dubois a good fit for the Leafs at 2C? | ||
| Yes | 235 | 53.8 % |
| No | 202 | 46.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
