Agent: Dubois wants to play for Canadiens

Pierre-Luc Dubois has his eyes set on suiting up for his boyhood team one day.

His agent, Pat Brisson, said Wednesday that Dubois would like to play for the Montreal Canadiens.

"Montreal is a city he would probably … I can talk about it because he doesn't have a contract at the moment - he's a restricted free agent," Brisson told TVA Sports in French, as translated by The Athletic. "Montreal is a place, a city he'd like to play in. That's all I can say about that."

Dubois was born in Ste-Agathe-Des-Monts, Quebec, but grew up in Rimouski.

The 24-year-old center reportedly told the Winnipeg Jets that he plans to test unrestricted free agency when he's eligible in 2024.

Dubois even attended the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal because he believed a trade to the Habs would be completed on the draft floor, sources told The Athletic's Arpon Basu and Murat Ates. The Canadiens reportedly offered three players to the Jets for Dubois but were unsuccessful. Winnipeg is apparently holding up a deal by asking for a player Montreal refuses to move.

This isn't the first time the Habs have pursued Dubois. It's been rumored that at the 2016 draft - under former general manager Marc Bergevin - the Canadiens had a deal in place to send P.K. Subban to the Vancouver Canucks if Dubois made it to pick No. 5. However, the Columbus Blue Jackets selected him third overall.

As Brisson noted, Dubois is a restricted free agent, so the Jets have him under team control for another two seasons.

Dubois, a 6-foot-3, 218-pound power forward, recorded 28 goals and 32 assists in 81 games for Winnipeg last season.

The Jets acquired Dubois and a third-round pick from Columbus in January 2021 in exchange for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.