The worst kept secret in hockey lately appears to be Pierre-Puc Dubois wanting out of Columbus. Despite signing a new two-year deal with the team worth $10 million, Dubois himeslf has not denied the rumours, instead saying he will focus on being the best teammate he can be while playing for the Blue Jackets this season.
With all of the trade talk, what has never been revealed is why Dubois wants to leave the team that drafted him third overall in 2016. However, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spilled the beans while appearing on a radio show this week.
"I don't think it has a lot to do with the negotiations (rumours had stated they had gone sour)," said Friedman. "I heard from a player in Columbus that they knew this was an issue before this."
"The thing I've gotten is, apparently, he just wants a bigger stage."
"We saw last year in the playoffs that he battled with [head coach John] Tortorella at times, and we say ok this is a Tortorella thing. And someone said to me it's not solely that. You'd be wrong to say it's simply a Tortorella thing."
"I think he wants a bigger stage," said Friedman.
Ohio isn't exactly a hockey mecca, but to be completely fair to the Blue Jackets, the team has averaged over 16,000 fans in attendance at home games for the last three seasons. There are teams in the league that do far worse than that. That said, Dubois was born and raised in Quebec, where people eat, sleep and breathe hockey, even during the offseason.
There have been rumours swirling that the Ottawa Senators are looking to swing a trade for Dubois in order to land what should be a legitimate number one centre in the coming seasons. Asked about that on Monday, Sens head coach DJ Smith was coy with reporters, simply saying he had no idea what they were talking about.
Source: SN960 The Fan
