Brandon Dubinsky signs 6-year extension with Blue Jackets

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ playoff run last season was Brandon Dubinsky’s arrival for the franchise.

It’s not like Dubinsky was all that underwhelming. He had 20 points in 29 games in 2012-13, the season after The Rick Nash Trade. He followed that with a career best 34 assists last season, along with 16 goals. But it was in the playoffs were the true Dubinsky calling card was on the table: Annoying the ever-loving heck out of Sidney Crosby and helping to keep the Pittsburgh Penguins star in check during the Jackets’ upset bid.

His reward? A six-year contract extension, announced on Friday. From Puck-Rakers:

Brandon Dubinsky has signed a six-year, $35.1 million contractextension with the Blue Jackets, a deal that puts him under contract with the club through the 2020-21 season. The deal includes both no-move and no-trade clauses, according to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

The $5.85 AAV isn’t bad for Dubinsky, at least at the start. Columbus is still a place that needs to spend a little more to retain talent. (Dubinsky would have gone UFA next summer.)

The no-trade and no-move clauses … well, one imagines that won’t be an issue if and when a parting of ways is necessary. (See Umberger, R.J.) But they didn’t seem that essential for a player like Brandon Dubinsky. But in Jarmo we trust, so ….

(UPDATE: Aaron Portzline reports that the deal goes to a limited NTC after three years. As we said: In Jarmo we trust.)