Pierre-Luc Dubois accepts qualifying offer of $6 million with Winnipeg Jets

Center Pierre-Luc Dubois has accepted his qualifying offer with the Winnipeg Jets, and will make $6 million for the 2022-23 season on a one-year deal.

Dubois just finished a two year contract with a $5 million contract, a deal he originally signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2020 offseason. He was in the midst of a trade request at that time, looking for a fresh start outside of the Blue Jackets environment. It was eventually resolved when Columbus dealt him along with a 2022 third round pick (that turned into center Danny Zhilkin) to the Jets for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.

Dubois finds himself in a similar position again this offseason. He’s reportedly expressed interest in wanting to test unrestricted free agency when he is eligible for it in 2024, which means he’s once again in trade rumours.

After a disappointing first season with Winnipeg in 2020-21, Dubois found significantly more success with the Jets in 2021-22. In 81 games, he scored a career-high 28 goals, along with 32 assists for 60 points on the year.

While Dubois has gained a reputation as a strong, two-way center, he’s never quite lived up to that reputation, but still had a solid 51.05% shot attempt share and 51.47% expected goal share at even strength last season. That said, it’s still more reliant on his strong offensive numbers, particularly his ability to create individual scoring chances, as he ranked 10th in the league last season with 19.98 expected goals at even strength.

With this deal, the Jets now have just under $8.5 million in cap space, with their only other significant restricted free agent being winger Mason Appleton. However, even with him signed, the Jets will still have only 10 forwards on their roster, so they will need to look to free agency or internally to fill those holes. They have yet to make a big splash in free agency this summer, only bringing in David Rittich to fill the back-up goalie position.