Pierre-Luc Dubois is on the Move Yet Again, This Time to Washington
Photo Credit: LA Kings Insider
The Los Angeles Kings had their hands tied with Pierre-Luc Dubois after an underachieving season by Dubois and the entire organization.
First, let’s go back to last summer. The Kings lost in the first round to the Oilers in six games for the second year in a row. General Manager Rob Blake is desperate to get one last run with their aging core in Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty. Blake takes the gamble and goes all in with acquiring Dubois in a sign-and-trade with the Winnipeg Jets. Blake trades away key assets and gives Dubois all he wants in an 8-year contract worth $68 million with a cap hit of $8.5 million.
At that time, Dubois was coming off an impressive season with the Jets, where in 73 games he had 27 goals and 36 assists to add up to 63 points. With only being in his early 20s, the potential was there to be an elite 1st line centerman. Though he came with many risks due to his past, in 2016, he was drafted 3rd overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his time with the Blue Jackets, he appeared to be a rising star, but at times his effort and lack of willingness to leave it all on the ice were questioned. He never saw eye to eye with the head coach of the Blue Jackets at the time, John Tortorella, and the last straw was “The Shift,” where he willingly showed no determination.
He was then shipped to Winnipeg, where he was unhappy and ready to get out. His most preferred destinations were Montreal and Los Angeles. As we know, he got his wish. For a guy who has put up three 60-point seasons and three seasons of 25+ goals, the Kings thought they found their guy to get over the hump despite the backlash that came with him.
The Kings and Rob Blake took a gigantic gamble with Dubois, and to say it was a failure would be an understatement. It didn’t take long to realize the Kings lost the trade after losing Gabe Vilardi in the deal.
Not only did the guys that the Kings sent to the Jets excel, but Dubois failed to earn the top six minutes and had his worst offensive season. The Kings even tried hiring a new coach, Jim Hiller, after they fired Todd McLellan, but it still didn't wake up Dubois. Dubois finished the regular season playing all 82 games with 40 points, where he had 16 goals and 24 assists. The postseason came around, and Dubois continued to struggle, taking bad penalties and registering one goal, which was his only point in a five-game series against the Oilers. The Oilers eliminated the Kings for the third straight year.
Rob Blake had to take action fast this offseason; the Kings knew quickly that the Dubois experiment failed, and with the contract he had, the Kings had two choices: find a tried partner or buy out the contract and have to pay Dubois for the next 14 years, saving a huge amount of money.
By July 1st, Dubois would have a no-movement clause kicked into his contract, giving him the ability to veto any trade that could take place, but luckily for the Kings, they found a taker in the Washington Capitals.
Blake took a swing and missed, and that happens to the best general managers at times. Though he was able to own up to his mistake and find a way to get out of the Dubois contract, There is no denying that this was a major setback for the Kings moving forward.
With the return of Darcy Kuemper, the Kings will have some solid depth in the goaltending position; With that being said, the Kings had to bite a bullet with this return as Kuemper, at age 34, is coming off his worst season with a.890 save percentage and 3.31 goals against average. He also carries a contract that has three more years with a $5.250 million cap hit. With Dubois moving, it’s time for the Kings to move Quinton Byfield to the centerman position. The Kings will still have great center-ice depth with Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault.
As for the Capitals moving into a retool, this could be viewed as a high-risk, high-reward scenario. Dubois, who will be 26 at the start of next season, has shown what he can do at his highest level, which is an elite top-6 centerman. The Capitals need to keep adding more and more young players with potential. In the Alex Ovechkin goal-scoring record race, this trade is only going to help Ovi. Although there is no salary retained by the Kings, if Dubois struggles, this could be a nightmare contract for the next 7 years for the Capitals.
The King's window is open just slightly. It will be very interesting to see how Rob Blake spends the extra $3 million of cap space he just got to make one last push.