Welcome to the second edition of "Looking North," our weekly Friday dive into the all-Canadian division. This installment dates back to Jan. 22.

The rundown

There seems to be a clear divide in competition among the Canadian teams through just over two weeks of the season. The Winnipeg Jets are scoring goals at ease but remain shaky defensively, and the Vancouver Canucks look solid once again after a rough start. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are still the teams to beat in the division.

The stars

The Jets have turned up the heat, and it's hard to single out a forward when the team is firing on all cylinders. Five players posted five or more points in the past week; Andrew Copp and Nikolaj Ehlers each had seven, and Paul Stastny had six, while Adam Lowry and Mark Scheifele each had five. Winnipeg clearly owns one of the most potent offenses in the league, and Pierre-Luc Dubois still hasn't debuted yet.

As for defensemen, Darnell Nurse is starting to look like the stud the Edmonton Oilers were hoping to see for the past few years. The blue-liner racked up five assists in four games, all while averaging a hefty 24:40 of ice time per game. Nurse also managed a Corsi For of 59.12% at even strength alongside a solid 63.68 xGF%.

In the crease, Thatcher Demko was phenomenal in the two games he appeared in recently. After three straight poor outings to start the season, the young netminder swatted aside 77 of the 79 shots he faced and helped the Canucks get two much-needed wins. Demko's .975 save percentage over the past two contests has been a big reason for Vancouver's sudden resurgence.

Canadian of the week

Connor McDavid is off to a stellar start, but the Oilers haven't taken advantage as they dropped three of their last four games. Despite that, the team's star shone bright and dominated his opponents in nearly every facet of the game.

The 24-year-old racked up two goals and six assists over his past four matchups, including this highlight-reel tally. Over the same span, he had a 72.78 xGF% at five-on-five and led all forwards with 24 high-danger scoring chances. McDavid continues to amaze night in and night out, but Edmonton just can't seem to get it going around him.

The moments

Oilers star Leon Draisaitl stepped up big time in a contest with the Jets earlier in the week. With things tied up and the game looking destined for overtime, he had other plans and stunned Winnipeg by delivering a dagger with just 0.7 seconds left on the clock.

There was already some bad blood brewing between Matthew Tkachuk and the Leafs after the Calgary Flames forward fell on goaltender Jack Campbell in the teams' first matchup and was accused by some of doing it intentionally. In the second game between the two sides, Toronto came out with a win - but not without stirring up some last-minute drama. As the buzzer sounded, Leafs rearguard Jake Muzzin harmlessly flicked the puck at Tkachuk. The temper tantrum that ensued was something to be seen.

With the clock winding down amid a blowout against the Ottawa Senators, Canucks forward Brandon Sutter had his mind on one thing: getting his first career hat trick. With under a minute to go in the contest, Sutter found himself streaking with one last chance to accomplish the feat and didn't waste the opportunity.

The question

After a promising win against the Maple Leafs in game No. 1 of the season, Ottawa has been downright awful since. The team lost four straight over the past week and were outscored 22-6. Head coach D.J. Smith expressed his frustration with the lineup after a 7-1 blowout loss to Vancouver on Monday. But even after making some changes, the team was met with a similar result in a 5-1 drudging just two nights later.

Many predicted the Senators to finish near the bottom of the standings, so this isn't all that surprising. Still, the expectation was they'd be more competitive than in recent years. Will Ottawa be able to piece together any sort of meaningful play this season and get some crucial growth for its young stars?

Stat of the week

The Canadiens just can't stop scoring shorthanded goals. They picked up their fifth shorthanded marker Thursday against the Flames to tie the NHL record for the most in a team's first seven games of a season, according to Sportsnet Stats.

Games to watch

The slumping Senators will be tasked with slowing down McDavid and Draisaitl for the first time this season on Sunday night. Winnipeg kicks off a three-game series against Calgary on Monday, the first time the teams will meet. Meanwhile, the Canucks will try to take down the Canadiens on Tuesday after dropping their last two contests against them by a combined 12-5 score.

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Pierre-Luc Dubois' agent, Pat Brisson, hasn't been a fan of John Tortorella's recent comments regarding his client.

"From Day 1 of camp, John Tortorella wanted to expose Pierre-Luc Dubois," Brisson said, according to TSN's Darren Dreger on Thursday's edition of "Insider Trading." "This included going on (the) radio the second week, which made it more difficult for (general manager Jarmo Kekalainen) to do his job. Now, he continues to use different media platforms trying to justify his position."

Tortorella has repeatedly spoken about Dubois' trade request in late December. In early January, prior to Dubois' trade to the Winnipeg Jets, the Columbus Blue Jackets head coach said on the radio that Dubois "hasn't given a reason why he wants to leave." In an interview that aired Wednesday, Tortorella acknowledged that he and the 22-year-old had conflict while calling today's athletes "softer."

After being dealt to Winnipeg last week, Dubois said he didn't demand a trade due to his relationship with Tortorella.

Additionally, Brisson pointed to Jets head coach Paul Maurice as an example of how he would've liked Tortorella to handle the situation.

"I have not heard Paul Maurice once say anything about a trade request from both (Patrik) Laine and (Jack) Roslovic," Brisson said. "This could've been Operation Submarine, but ah well, Torts wasn't able to help himself."

Dubois has yet to make his Jets debut due to his mandatory quarantine upon entering Canada.

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The San Jose Sharks can finally return home.

San Jose started the season training and playing in Glendale, Arizona, due to COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County. The ban on contact sports has since been lifted, paving the way for the club to return to the SAP Center.

The Sharks have yet to play a home game as they were scheduled to play eight straight road contests to open the season. The team's upcoming two games against the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 1 and 3 will still be played in Arizona as previously scheduled.

"While we are pleased to have received permission for the team to return to Santa Clara County, there are numerous health and safety issues - both from the county and league level - that need to be implemented to ensure the safety of the returning players and staff," the team announced, according to NBC Sports' Brodie Brazil.

The Sharks' first game at SAP Center will be on Feb. 13 against the Anaheim Ducks. Due to local restrictions, fans won't be allowed to attend.

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Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella didn't mince words when discussing the recent trade of his past disgruntled star Pierre-Luc Dubois.

"Have Luc and I had conflict? Goddamn right we've had conflict," Tortorella said in an interview with Sportsnet's Christine Simpson. "If someone doesn't want to be here, that's a hard thing for me to stomach, quite honestly."

He added: "I'll tell you this, I do think the athletes (today), it's a softer athlete. And the benching; I'd do it again."

After Tortorella benched Dubois for the majority of what turned out to be his final game with the Blue Jackets early last week, many people speculated that the failing relationship between the two led to the center's trade demand last month.

However, after being dealt to the Winnipeg Jets last week, Dubois said Tortorella wasn't the reason for his trade request. Dubois added that he has "nothing but respect for him." The 22-year-old hasn't explained why he demanded a trade.

While Tortorella is well aware of his reputation for having a brass nature and tough coaching style, Columbus' bench boss says he pays no attention to it.

"A lot of people have some perceptions of me that don't have a clue who I am," Tortorella said.

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New York Islanders head coach Barry Trotz knows every game in a shortened season counts, and he doesn't like his team's effort so far this year.

"It's playoff mentality right now and I'm not sure we have our playoff mentality yet," Trotz said postgame on Tuesday, according to The Athletic's Arthur Staple. "And it's pissing me off."

The Islanders lost to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday after allowing the game-winning goal with 26.7 seconds left. Washington outplayed New York all game, finishing with a Corsi For of 56.52% at even strength and nine high-danger scoring chances to the Islanders' five.

Trotz vowed he'll change the lineup moving forward to try to get something going.

"We need more. I just felt we had one line," Trotz said, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti. "That’s all I felt like I had tonight and that’s a couple games in a row here, so we’re going to shake it up and put some new people in and go from there."

After New York won three of its first four games of the season, it's now lost the last two to bring its record to 3-3-0.

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The relationship between the Columbus Blue Jackets and supposed franchise star Pierre-Luc Dubois has gone sour, but general manager Jarmo Kekalainen still doesn't know exactly why the 22-year-old wanted out. However, he remains positive the reason had nothing to do with the contract negotiations between the two sides.

"There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly," Kekalainen said Monday on TSN Radio 1050's "Leafs Lunch."

"... Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process. There was nothing about these negotiations, and I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me, he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations, I can assure you of that."

Shortly after both parties agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal in late December, reports revealed Dubois had requested a trade. While no specific reason was given, there was speculation the Quebec native became unhappy during the negotiations.

Dubois hasn't given a specific reason for his demand but recently divulged the move was something he had been thinking about, and his feelings strengthened during the negotiations.

"It was a process, I was thinking about a long time, it wasn't overnight. It wasn't I just woke up one morning and it was a decision to make. It was something that I thought about," Dubois said to Sportsnet's Ron MacLean.

"As negotiations were going, obviously you don't take anything personally, but as they go longer and longer, you kind of start to think about stuff and situations."

When Kekalainen was asked whether he believed the talks caused Dubois to request a trade, he vehemently denied it.

"That’s just flat out not true at all, and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that because that’s not true," Kekalainen said.

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The relationship between the Columbus Blue Jackets and supposed franchise star Pierre-Luc Dubois has gone sour, but general manager Jarmo Kekalainen still doesn't know exactly why the 22-year-old wanted out. However, he remains positive the reason had nothing to do with the contract negotiations between the two sides.

"There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly," Kekalainen said Monday on TSN Radio 1050's "Leafs Lunch."

"... Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process. There was nothing about these negotiations, and I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me, he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations, I can assure you of that."

Shortly after both parties agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal in late December, reports revealed Dubois had requested a trade. While no specific reason was given, there was speculation the Quebec native became unhappy during the negotiations.

Dubois hasn't given a specific reason for his demand but recently divulged the move was something he had been thinking about, and his feelings strengthened during the negotiations.

"It was a process, I was thinking about a long time, it wasn't overnight. It wasn't I just woke up one morning and it was a decision to make. It was something that I thought about," Dubois said to Sportsnet's Ron MacLean.

"As negotiations were going, obviously you don't take anything personally, but as they go longer and longer, you kind of start to think about stuff and situations."

When Kekalainen was asked whether he believed the talks caused Dubois to request a trade, he vehemently denied it.

"That’s just flat out not true at all, and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that because that’s not true," Kekalainen said.

Copyright © 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The relationship between the Columbus Blue Jackets and supposed franchise star Pierre-Luc Dubois has gone sour, but general manager Jarmo Kekalainen still doesn't know exactly why the 22-year-old wanted out. However, he remains positive the reason had nothing to do with the contract negotiations between the two sides.

"There was never any problem with the negotiation of this contract, it came to a conclusion very quickly," Kekalainen said Monday on TSN Radio 1050's "Leafs Lunch."

"... Once the player and the agent wanted to engage in the talks and we agreed on the length, it was a very easy process. There was nothing about these negotiations, and I wish that Pierre-Luc would tell the truth about why he wanted out. He hasn’t even told me, he hasn’t told his teammates or anybody else. It certainly wasn’t about contract negotiations, I can assure you of that."

Shortly after both parties agreed to a two-year, $10 million deal in late December, reports revealed Dubois had requested a trade. While no specific reason was given, there was speculation the Quebec native became unhappy during the negotiations.

Dubois hasn't given a specific reason for his demand but recently divulged the move was something he had been thinking about, and his feelings strengthened during the negotiations.

"It was a process, I was thinking about a long time, it wasn't overnight. It wasn't I just woke up one morning and it was a decision to make. It was something that I thought about," Dubois said to Sportsnet's Ron MacLean.

"As negotiations were going, obviously you don't take anything personally, but as they go longer and longer, you kind of start to think about stuff and situations."

When Kekalainen was asked whether he believed the talks caused Dubois to request a trade, he vehemently denied it.

"That’s just flat out not true at all, and he knows that, so I don’t know why he would say that or even insinuate something like that because that’s not true," Kekalainen said.

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Pierre-Luc Dubois hasn't revealed the exact reason why he wanted to be traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets, but he did acknowledge that head coach John Tortorella wasn't a factor in his decision.

"Before I got drafted to Columbus, I knew what kind of coach he was, and I heard from players that played for him in the past, some when he was in Tampa. I heard from Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. The consensus I got, and this is my opinion, is he helps guys," Dubois told Sportsnet's Ron MacLean on Saturday.

"He pushes guys, he motivates guys, he gets guys going. It's hard sometimes to see it when you're 20 or it's in the moment, but all those guys all said the same thing: 'One day when you're older you'll look back at it and you'll remember that he did great things for your career.'"

"I know for some people it might be that's the reason, but it's not. He was a hard coach and I can take it, nothing's personal," Dubois added. "I grew up from a dad that coached and he told me if a coach challenges you it's never personal, he just wants what's best for you, and that's how I see Torts - I have nothing but respect for him."

Dubois was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets earlier on Saturday in a blockbuster trade for Patrik Laine, Jack Roslovic, and a third-round pick. The 22-year-old made it known in late December he wanted a change of scenery.

Dubois was benched for the majority of his last game with the Blue Jackets, finishing with 3:55 minutes of ice time. Despite the tough love from Tortorella, Dubois said he understands the importance of it.

"He did good things to challenge you and to make you more mature and for you to grow up, and that's something that I know wasn't always easy, but you have to appreciate the honesty and you have to appreciate he was trying to make me a better player, trying to make me a better person," Dubois added.

Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was reportedly planning on being patient in finding a trade partner for Dubois, but the benching made it clear that a deal would have to come sooner than later.

It's unclear how long Dubois will need to quarantine before he can make his debut for his new club, as the Canadian government requires people to isolate for 14 days upon arriving in the country. The Jets have asked the government to reduce his quarantine period to seven days, reports Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

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Columbus Blue Jackets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is expected to be a healthy scratch for Saturday's contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning, The Athletic's Aaron Portzline reports.

Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has reportedly been trying to find a trade partner for his star player since the end of December after Dubois made it known he would like a change of scenery.

The situation between the two sides took a turn on Thursday when the 22-year-old was benched for the majority of Columbus' game, playing just 3:55 in a 3-2 OT loss vs. the Lightning.

After declining to speak to the media postgame, Dubois took ownership for his benching after practice on Friday. He acknowledged he wasn't playing at his usual high level and that he needed to step up his game.

Dubois has one goal in five games this season. He has 66 goals and 93 assists in 239 career games.

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