Blue Jackets “100 Percent Sure” They’ll Re-Sign RFA Pierre-Luc Dubois

Columbus Blue Jackets centre Pierre-Luc Dubois (18). Photo by Canadian Press/Shutterstock (10735794x)

Center Pierre-Luc Dubois is the only remaining restricted free agent left in NHL, but Columbus Blue Jackets are confident that won’t be the case for too long.

Speaking with media earlier this week, Blue Jackets’ general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said that the team is “100 percent sure” they’ll have Dubois under contract and on the roster before the training camp kicks off next month.

“I’m 100 percent sure it will get done,” said Kekalainen.

Kekalainen’s optimism stems from the fact that Blue Jackets were in a similar position before and have always managed to lock down their restricted free agents.

We’ve been in this situation before where we’ve had RFAs that want to take their time to agree on a contract, and we respect that, and they have that right,” he added. “But I’m confident he’ll be signed before training camp starts.”

Blue Jackets would certainly like to get the deal as quickly as possible in order to find out how much room they will have under the salary cap to make other moves. The team has several needs they need to address, including the replacement for injured veteran Gustav Nyquist, and are looking to the free agency market to do so.

Pierre-Luc Dubois was arguably Columbus’ best player last season, contributing with 18 goals and 31 assists for team-leading 49 points. He was also productive in the Stanley Cup playoffs, managing four goals and six assists in 10 games.

So far in his NHL career, Dubois, who was Blue Jackets’ third overall pick in 2016, played 234 games in which he scored 65 goals and dished 93 assists for a total of 158 points.

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