The whole point of a rebuild is to start from scratch to fill your team with young talent in hope of getting those players you need to win a cup. Signing a bunch of players like Dubois to high cap hits is settling for less. If you already have the lay out and you feel adding someone like Dubois may boost it, then fine. But he’s not somebody you build around. If he’s one of your top players, especially centres, chances are you aren’t a very good team.
This would only be true if Dubois was age 28+. He's less than one year older than Suzuki and just as good. We are not going to pay Dubois $9M+ and we are also not going to overpay in trade value either. If you believe in Suzuki, you should believe in Dubois for their prime.
A top 2C for his prime years close to $8M where in 2+ years, that cost will be $9M+ with a much higher cap.
We are lucky to pick 5 in this draft. If not for all the injuries, we would be picking 6-10 or 8-12 range. You're starting from scratch rebuild narrative happened before Gorton/Hughes. Suzuki, Caufield, Guhle, Xhekaj, etc. We are in the back part of the rebuild and heading into transition years now.
Are you expecting another top 5 pick next season?