Rumor: Pierre Luc Dubois' potential destination down to just 3 teams.

The situation between Columbus Blue Jackets centerman Pierre Luc Dubois and the Blue Jackets franchise has completely deteriorated before our very eyes and there is now a strong belief that Dubois will not make it through the weekend as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Many of the National Hockey League's top insiders are reporting that a trade is on the near horizon and although there is some minor disagreement regarding the number of teams that are currently involved, it sounds like we may be down to the final 3 horses in this race. On Friday NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Montreal Canadiens, Anaheim Ducks, Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames all remained in the Dubois sweepstakes, with potentially even more unnamed teams involved, however the latest from NHL insider Pierre LeBrun would suggest that the Flames and the other unnamed teams are no longer in the running.

The Canadiens have long been considered the frontrunners for a potential trade involving Dubois due to the fact that they have a number one center that they could offer in return in the form of Nick Suzuki. If rumors are to be believed however, it appears that the Canadiens have thus far been unwilling to include either Suzuki or Russian defenseman Alexander Romanov in the deal, something that I believe will remove them from that top contender status.

The aforementioned Elliotte Friedman has reported that the Jets have already tabled an offer that would include both star forward Patrik Laine and Ohio native Jack Roslovic who is currently an unsigned restricted free agent in the Winnipeg Jets organization. Roslovic has no doubt already drawn interest from the Blue Jackets given that he remains unsigned and has been training in Columbus during his contract holdout, and the possibility to add a proven goalscorer like Patrik Laine is always going to be tempting for any NHL general manager. 

It's important to remember here that both insiders believe the Anaheim Ducks remain a contender here, but there has been considerably less said about what kind of offer the Ducks are prepared to make in order to secure Dubois. Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen seems to be looking for a player, or players, that could help his team in the immediate future and that leaves the Ducks a distant third in this race in my estimation.