Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is changing his jersey number to pay tribute to his late former teammate Matiss Kivlenieks, according to Winnipeg Sun's Scott Billeck.
Dubois is switching from No. 13 to 80 for the upcoming season.
New season = new #NHLJets numbers! ✈️@18Dubois - #80@natebeaulieu - #28@BDillon04 – #5@nateschmidt29 - #88
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) August 4, 2021
Mikhail Berdin - #30@rileynash20 – #20@Pogo_11 – #22@MikeyEyssimont– #23
Luke Johnson – #47#GoJetsGo pic.twitter.com/JqEXMLj1W0
Kivlenieks, who died at age 24 in a fireworks accident last month, wore No. 80 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Latvian netminder had played in the team's system since 2017-18 and appeared in eight NHL games over the last two seasons.
Dubois also began his Blue Jackets tenure in 2017-18 and played with Columbus until January of this year, when the club traded him to Winnipeg. He wore No. 18 with the Blue Jackets.
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