After finishing the 2022-23 NHL regular season with a 47-25-10 record and a first-round exit in the ensuing playoffs, the Los Angeles Kings made a move to bolster their offense – specifically the Center position – acquiring former 3rd overall draft pick Pierre-Luc Dubois (PLD) from the Winnipeg Jets.
Prior to being moved to LA, PLD agreed to a sign-and-trade at 8-years/$68M with a no movement clause (NMC).
The Kings and Jets have agreed on a sign and trade deal sending Pierre-Luc Dubois to LA in exchange for Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Villardi, Rasmus Kupari, and a 2024 2nd round pick. Dubois’s extension is an eight year deal that carries a $8.5M AAV, per @DarrenDreger pic.twitter.com/evqouXFejn
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 27, 2023
The trade was costly (in more ways than one), LA giving up Forwards Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, and Rasmus Kupari along with a 2024 2nd-round pick (from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Defenseman Sean Durzi). In theory, adding Dubois gave the Kings a solid spine down the middle of their Forward group with Dubois, Anze Kopitar, Phillip Danault, and Blake Lizotte plugged into the Center position.
Warning signs came quickly when Dubois was paired with Kevin Fiala and the two offensively gifted skaters were more interested in getting into physical altercations than affecting the game between the dots.
It didn’t take long for fans to decry the trade an all-around loss for the Kings, calling for General Manager Rob Blake to be relieved of his duties.
That sentiment didn’t fall on deaf ears because on June 19th, 2024, Blake shipped PLD to the Washington Capitals (for Goaltender Darcy Kuemper) before his NMC kicked in.
This season, PLD has registered twenty-three points (5G, 18A) in thirty-two games played with the Capitals, well on his way to eclipsing his forty points in eighty-two games with the Kings.
My general opinion about players is that anyone can have a down year. Detroit Red Wings Forward Lucas Raymond had a bad season heading into his draft, dropping to 4th overall from an earlier top-3 projection. Ultimately, he turned out to be the player we know him to be.
So, what if PLD was still with the Kings? Would he have had a bounce back performance, this season?
To start, it’s hard to live in the world of what ifs as there is nothing tangible to hang your hat on.
That said, I do believe Dubois could have succeeded under the guidance of Head Coach Jim Hiller – a personality driven coach. As soon as he was traded, Washington Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery called Dubois to talk to the man, not the player.
“It lasted twelve minutes and we didn’t even talk about hockey for the first ten minutes. He asked about me, my family. He asked me if I had time to call my father. If my girlfriend had received the conversation well. He asked me my reaction. I had never had a conversation like that with a coach. He was interested in me. I even looked at my phone to see how long we had been talking without mentioning hockey.” – Pierre-Luc Dubois
Financially, Dubois’ $8.5M AAV versus Kuemper’s $5.25M AAV would have resulted in the Kings not signing either Forward Warren Foegele or Defenseman Joel Edmundson. Playing armchair GM, fans would likely say they wouldn’t have signed Edmundson, but the reality is the Kings would have needed more Defensemen than Forwards. Factoring in the injury of Drew Doughty, the Kings are fortunate to have signed Edmundson.
That then begs the question as to where PLD would plug into the lineup.
In my view, bringing in PLD as a Center was a mistake and an oversight. This is a player who hadn’t played Center until halfway through his draft year, spending most of his youth at Left Wing. Thus, plugging him at LW1 alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe would’ve made a lot of sense. His north-south speed would have complimented Kempe well and given PLD’s ability to play Center but not necessarily be a Center, he could take the occasional faceoff.
With a veteran like Kopitar shepherding him and a coach like Hiller who could alleviate his angst, Dubois would have gained the sense of direction he didn’t think former Kings Head Coach Todd McLellan was providing.
“Todd [McLellan] is more of a collective tactics coach. […] I’ve always needed clear instructions to do my job 100%.” – Pierre-Luc Dubois
Ultimately, things played out the way they did. PLD seems to be happy in Washington D.C. and his teammates are thrilled to have him. Young players like Alex Turcotte and Alex Laferriere have been given chances that would otherwise be handed to Dubois, further stunting their development with limited ice time in unfitting roles.
If there’s a lesson to be learned from all of this, it’s that we can’t rewind the clock, but there’s always time to get back on course.
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