NHL Rumors: New deals coming for RFAs Mathew Barzal and Luc-Pierre Dubois?
Anthony Scultore
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Pierre Lebrun was on TSN’s Insider Trading and discussed two of the biggest RFA names still out there. Forwards Mathew Barzal of the NY Islanders and Luc-Pierre Dubois of the Columbus Blue Jackets are still without contracts.
NHL Rumors: Luc-Pierre Dubois
Lebrun kicked off the conversation with Dubois where he said “there’s a lot of positive vibes a deal will get done.” He spoke with GM Jarmo Kekalainen on a recent podcast and was told there were no worries to getting a deal done.
“I am confident that we will have Pierre-Luc Dubois under contract before the first day of training camp,” Kekalainen said on an SiriusXM NHL interview. The GM explained that these things take time but they fully expect it to happen before camp.
Also, according to Elliotte Friedman, he is confident that they will get something done. Apparently, the Jackets are trying to move Brandon Dubinsky’s contract as he will not play this season due to a chronic wrist injury.
NHL Rumors: Mathew Barzal
When it comes to Barzal, the insider revealed that the two sides have remained in constant communication as well. “They’ve talked short term, medium term, and long term deals again getting a positive vibe out of those negotiations.”
One of hockey’s best insiders, Elliotte Friedman discussed Barzal on Sportsnet 960. “That’s still what I’m hearing,” Friedman explained about Barzal getting a bridge deal. “They still have a lot of cap issues, so that’s what I expect.”
When it came to trying to understand why the Islanders wouldn’t go longterm he just couldn’t see how it was possible. “I just don’t know how they’re going to be able to get to a Barzal six- or seven-year number without major surgery. Even a two- or three-year deal could be somewhat painful surgery.”