Two of the top three options in the 2016 NHL draft changed places on Saturday following a trade deal between Columbus and Winnipeg.
The Blue Jackets sent center-back Pierre-Luc Dubois and a third-round pick to the Jets for right-wing Patrik Laine and center-back Jack Roslovic, according to several reports.
The play comes just 48 hours after Dubois was invested by former Rangers coach John Tortorella in a waste of extra time against the Lightning.
The 22-year-old French Canadian applied for a trade in Columbus before the start of the season this month, following a negotiation process that led to the restricted free agent signing a two-year contract worth 5 million dollars.
Dubois, the former third-place overall, led Columbus with 18 goals and 31 assists last year and was third overall in the 2016 draft.
But Dubois scored just one goal in the first five games and at times seemed unobtrusive, prompting his position on the bench on Thursday. He played less than four minutes, a figure well below the average of 17 minutes per game.
“I definitely need to be better,” Dubois told reporters Friday.
Laine, 22, has been the subject of commercial rumors for the past two years, despite scoring an impressive 140 goals in 306 games.
The native of Finland was second in 2016 and is in the second year of a two-year, $ 13.5 million contract.