Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 contract extensions that should happen in 2020
1. Pierre-Luc Dubois
Pierre-Luc Dubois came into this season needing to prove himself. Could he produce away from Artemi Panarin? He gave a resounding answer, and that answer is “yes he can”. Dubois leads the Columbus Blue Jackets in points with 49 points in 70 games. He is also second on Blue Jackets forwards in 5v5 points per hour, just behind Bjorkstrand.
The team has two options with Dubois. They can either sign him to a bridge deal or a long-term deal. Now, the Blue Jackets aren’t cap-strapped, so I think they should lean towards the latter. A bridge deal makes the most sense for someone who hasn’t proved themselves, or for a team who would like to give out a long-term deal, but can’t for cap reasons.
Dubois has proven himself to be a very capable center in this league, so a long-term deal makes sense. He’s a top-line caliber center (albeit on the lower end of that tier), so it will likely cost the Blue Jackets at least $6 million per season to keep him around. That’s the going rate for a first-line center.
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The Blue Jackets must keep Dubois around. He’s emerged as a crucial player for them and keeping him around long-term would be great for the franchise.