The Columbus Blue Jackets traded center Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for right winger Patrik Laine and center Jack Roslovic on Saturday.
The Jets also will receive a 2022 third-round draft pick.
A Dubois-Laine swap means a pair of 22-year-old standouts, both disgruntled with their teams, will get fresh starts.
Dubois was the center on the Blue Jackets’ No. 1 line and was benched by coach John Tortorella for the final two periods on Thursday in a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. And Laine, who will become a restricted free agent after this season, has been tied to trade talk since before the season began, with his agent saying early this month that a trade would be advisable.
The Blue Jackets selected Dubois with the No. 3 overall selection of the 2016 NHL Draft. He moved into the lineup for the 2017-18 season, and in 239 regular-season games with Columbus has 159 points (66 goals. 93 assists).
He has one goal in five games this season.
Laine was the No. 2 overall pick in the same draft by the Jets and made an immediate impact. As a rookie, he played in the 2017 All-Star Game and scored 64 points (36 goals, 28 assists) in 73 games, finishing second in voting for the Calder Trophy.
In 306 games in Winnipeg, he has 250 points (140 goals, 110 assists.) An upper-body injury has limited him to just one game this season, and he scored twice and had one assist.
Roslovic, a Columbus native selected No. 25 overall in the 2015 draft, is an unsigned restricted free agent. He and the team weren’t able to agree on a contract in the offseason, so the 23-year-old did not report to training camp.
The Blue Jackets announced they had agreed to terms with Roslovic on a two-year deal worth $3.8 million.
Roslovic scored 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 71 games last season. He has 67 points (26 goals, 41 assists) in 180 regular-season games.
It is unclear when Dubois and Laine will be able to report to their new teams because of potential complications crossing the U.S.-Canada border amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Roslovic has been in the United States and not subject to such restrictions.
Laine is in the final season of a two-year, $13.5 million contract. Dubois signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the Blue Jackets on Dec. 31.
–Field Level Media
