There has been a lot of big news in the hockey world and some of it has been in the Blue Jackets’ little sphere. Lost in the mix of Wednesday’s flurry of trades was the fact that the Blue Jackets reached an agreement with Pierre-Luc Dubois on his entry level contract. It would seem like pretty standard news except for the fact that Dubois set himself apart with this contract.
Pierre-Luc Dubois #Columbus
3 yr ELC
$925,000 Cap Hit
+ $850,000 'A' Bonuses
+ $1,650,000 'B' Bonuses (HIGHEST ever for a 3rd overall pick)— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 29, 2016
The cap hit alone is the most you can give to a player on his ELC, while the bonuses are absolutely huge. A “B” bonus is a performance/award based bonus. Obviously since we don’t have the contract in hand we can’t speculate what could possibly be included into the contract. But it does make you wonder if the Jackets want to put the carrot in front of Dubois early and see if he wants to run with it. It also further cements to me that the Jackets believe in their pick regardless of the fact that they caught a lot of guff from people on the internet, including myself. None of that matters now as they are embracing the decision and moving forward with gusto.
Being the first player from this year’s draft to at least be announced to have a contract signed is also a bit of a surprise considering the other teams with high picks. One would assume the Leafs would want Auston Matthews under contract as quickly as possible. The Jackets aren’t setting any sort of market, (the CBA does that for them) but they are making a statement and are backing it up quickly with this signing.
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