It was only just a couple of days ago that the Winnipeg Jets and the Columbus Blue Jackets entered into a historic trade that got the attention of the whole hockey world.
Winnipeg traded Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic to Columbus in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois and a 2022 NHL entry draft third round pick.
Our own Dan St. Joseph took a deep dive into the trade and his must-read article regarding the three reasons Patrik Laine was traded can be found here.
Now that Laine is gone, we must turn our attention to the newest member of the Winnipeg Jets, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and where the twenty-two-year-old fits into the Jets lineup.
Now that Dubois is on the Winnipeg Jets, there are many different line combinations that the Jets can have moving forward.
After watching the Jets in the early part of season play and assessing their depth chart there are many different potential depth chart scenarios that can happen when Dubois dresses for the Jets.
Keep the first Line as is and move Dubois to the second line
This situation will give the Jets two options. 1) Move either Dubois or Paul Stastny to the left wing and have a line of Dubois-Stastny-Ehlers or 2) Have Dubois center the second line and then move Stastny to the third line.
This is a strong possibility because the first line of Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler has been playing extremely well in this young season, and there is no reason to split them up. Adding Dubois on the second line will even out the rest of the Jets lines.
In the first scenario, Dubois would most likely move to the wing, since he has more experience in that position rather than Stastny. The Jets stressed the importance of bringing Dubois in as a center and I find it hard to believe that Dubois would find himself on the wing.
Therefore, unless Stastny is playing on the wing with Dubois, the first option does not look likely.
It looks like the second option is more likely. The Jets could have Dubois as the second line center and move Stastny to be the third line centerman. With Nate Thompson on the injured reserve, this gives the Jets four true centermen on their roster.
Dubois could center Ehlers and potentially Andrew Copp. Stastny would be between Perreault and Appelton, which would leave a potential fourth line combination of Lowry, Lewis, and Harkins/Vesalinen/Gustafsson.
Play Dubois and Scheifele on a line together
As I mentioned above, the Jets acquired Dubois to be a top centerman on the team. Under this scenario that means either Mark Scheifele or Dubois would have to play on the wing.
Although this could be a very intriguing option, it would be hard to believe that the Jets would move one of their top centermen to the wing.
This scenario also involves splitting up the Jets’ current first line, which has a combined total of 26 points in six games played.
Most likely, Kyle Connor would be the player who makes way for Dubois in this option and Connor would subsequently play with Stastny, where he started the season.
The major question in this scenario is: Are the Jets willing to split up their first line to make room for Dubois?
Only time will tell where Paul Maurice puts Pierre-Luc Dubois on the Jets lineup chart. Fortunately, as shown above, there are many different combinations that Maurice can shift around to get the most out of his team and set them up for a successful rest of the 2021 season.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: Who would you like to see Dubois play alongside when he suits up for the Jets? Leave your comments below!
*All Stats Provided by the NHL*