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Butchered: Brandon Dubinsky chirps college free agent sweepstakes in NHL

Montreal Canadiens v Columbus Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, OH - DECEMBER 23: Brandon Dubinsky #17 of the Columbus Blue Jackets lines up for a face off during the game against the Montreal Canadiens on December 23, 2016 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

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During these dog days of the hockey summer, small flourishes such as the rush to sign Will Butcher stand as welcome distractions. At least for some of us.

It sounds like Columbus Blue Jackets forward (and occasional bane of Sidney Crosby’s existence) Brandon Dubinsky is not quite a fan of this process, even if he didn’t name Butcher or, say, Jimmy Vesey by name.

Dubinsky didn’t provide a solution, necessarily, but his tweet will inspire some of us to watch his first encounter with Butcher more intently.

Interesting. Dubinsky followed that tweet up with “I bet teams that make the draft pick would agree with me as well!”

While the process can be tricky, it’s important to note that not every situation is the same.

For every Vesey situation - i.e. the team who drafted a player showing interest in signing him - there are ones closer to Butcher, where the Colorado Avalanche weren’t pretty lukewarm toward handing him a deal.

Things get even messier and more convoluted when you go deeper into why there might be some jealousy toward players enjoying a slice of free agent life before their rookie shifts, as the question of sports drafts can become quite the labor debate. There’s almost a “divide and conquer” feel to Dubinsky griping about the Butchers of the world, and that stuff can get a little nauseating if you really dive into the rabbit hole.

Beyond that more serious stuff, it reminds of a more jovial Twitter moment during Dubinsky’s own contract negotiations, as former teammate Ryan Johansen rattled his cage in a charming way:

https://twitter.com/RyanJohansen19/statuses/488129334318600193

One other thought: how might Dubinsky’s teammates feel? It would be especially interesting to find out Sonny Milano’s reaction considering the development decisions from his own past.

Anyway, sign us up for whenever Butcher and Dubinsky first meet on the ice. Maybe we can even get microphones on both of them?