CBJ GM: 'I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out'
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen appears to be getting frustrated with the Pierre-Luc Dubois situation, even though Dubois is now a member of the Winnipeg Jets. Kekalainen appeared on TSN 1050 Radio to talk about the trade Monday, two days after Dubois did an interview with Hockey Night in Canada's Ron MacLean where he said the contract negotiations for his latest deal were partially to blame for him requesting a trade. Kekalainen did not seem happy about that.
"That's just flat out not true at all and he knows that, so I don't know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that," Kekalainen said.
"It took all in all, I think 10 minutes to do his contract when we finally agreed on the length of the deal and we had everything from two years, to three years to eight years on the table. First, we didn't really talk about it, that's how Pat Brisson (Dubois' agent) conducts his business, I have the upmost respect for him as a professional and how he handled the negotiations."
"There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly and I thought what we signed was a fair deal for both sides," he explained.
"There was nothing about these negotiations and I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn't even told me; he hasn't told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn't about contract negotiations; I can assure you of that."
In a recent article for Radio Canada (which you can read a summary of here), reporter Martin Leclerc claimed a source close to the situation told him Tortorella, after being told of Dubois' trade request, ordered his assistants not to talk to the player. He also went on a radio show in Columbus and publicly discussed Dubois' trade request, something Dubois and Kekalainen had agreed to keep private.
The full truth may never come out as to why, exactly, Dubois wanted out of Columbus. All sides believe their version is the correct version and fans are left to figure out which one they want to believe.
Source: TSN.ca
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YESTERDAY
JUNE 9, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
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