Aaron Portzline reported late Tuesday night after the Vegas game that Brandon Dubinsky had been sent home by the Columbus Blue Jackets to deal with personal issues.
Updated Dubinsky story with quotes from his agent, who denies that Dubinsky being sent home was a disciplinary measure by the club:https://t.co/zIf27mvfgl
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) January 24, 2018
Dubinsky has not played since December the 12th, as he is recovering from an eye injury suffered in that December 12th game against the Oilers. Earlier reports in the day had suggested that Dubinsky was sent home to go see an eye doctor, but those reports ended up not being inaccurate. Portzline reported that Dubinsky was expected to play Thursday against Arizona.
Dubinsky’s agent, Kurt Overhardt, however was quoted in Portzline’s story, denying that this was a disciplinary measure and that Dubinsky was sent home for medical reasons. “He was sent home for medical diagnosis,… Overhardt said. “He's had several injuries this season. The club and my client decided that this was best. There are several issues we've been dealing with behind the scenes to get him healthy.…
Overhardt reiterated that again Wednesday morning when talking to Steve Gorten of the Columbus Dispatch.
#CBJ Brandon Dubinsky's agent talks about his situation and report he was sent homehttps://t.co/l9RJfXEbdA
— Steve Gorten (@sgorten) January 24, 2018
“There’s no disciplinary action, so that’s completely wrong,… Overhardt continued. “The player is not in trouble with the club. He just was put on a plane to go get some medical advice. With these injuries he’s had between getting his hand and his wrist fixed last summer, and then obviously what happened a month and a half, two months ago with the fight, there’s residual issues from that.
The team itself is keeping quiet on the matter, neither John Tortorella or Jarmo Kekalainen has commented on the matter. The official word from the team is that it is “related to medical issues.…
Just spoke to #CBJ team spokesman Todd Sharrock. He reiterated that Brandon Dubinsky's absence from the team is not disciplinary. He said it's solely related to medical issues, which is why the team can't comment.
— Steve Gorten (@sgorten) January 24, 2018
This is a very weird situation with misinformation, reporters saying one thing, the agent saying another, the team saying something different. It seems like someone is trying to misdirect people from what is actually going on. It’s quite clear something significant is happening and it’s likely we never get the full story.
Dubinsky has been having problems all year. He’s played poorly, he has just three goals, and nine assists in 31 games. His possession numbers have also dropped, his Corsi this season is at 47.54% the lowest of his 11 year career. He has been used in a much more defensive role this season which explains some of the drop, but even just watching Dubinsky it’s clear he’s been struggling.
This is not the first time this season something has happened between Dubinsky and the team. In late October the team announced that they were stripping Dubinsky of his alternate captaincy. At the time it was stressed that this was not a punishment but a reflection of how Dubinsky had played. They wanted to take some pressure off of him in hopes of him re-finding his game.
Dubinsky was not able to find his game, and now this. Again odds are we never actually find out what’s going on until much later, if even at all. You just have to hope whatever it is Dubinsky can handle it and get his career and more importantly his life back on track.
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