Is he worth the contract LA gave him?
The Los Angeles Kings entered the offseason with the intent to make a splash. They reached the postseason for a second consecutive season but failed to get out of the first round.
Whatever they were doing to expedite their rebuild showed success, but they needed more. General Manager Rob Blake knew that he needed to build a stronger team that could compete with the elites of the NHL.
And within the first few days of the offseason, Blake had his man. The Kings acquired and then signed former Winnipeg Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois to an eight-year, $68 million contract. It was the type of move that this organization had been waiting for, and Blake delivered.
They moved forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for Dubois. It was a heavy price to pay for a guy with immense talent but has had some attitude issues.
The trade was met with mixed results, but recently ClutchPoints writer Tristan McKinstry had high praise for the deal.
“There is a lot to like about Dubois from the Kings' perspective. He is only 25 years old and still can develop into an even better player. And he really is a jack-of-all-trades type of player on the ice. He can score goals, create space in the offensive zone, and feed teammates.”
Due to his age, it’s a massive bet on his potential as a player. He is already one of the better scorers in the NHL and should only continue to improve.
Dubois scored 27 goals last season for the Jets and added 36 assists as well. His passing ability should help open the LA offense, giving them another strong facilitator.
This was a power move by the Kings, even with the risk of giving him an eight-year deal. Dubois has spoken about this opportunity and is excited to be with the Kings.
"First, my dream is to win the Stanley Cup, and I look at the organization, I look at the players, the whole roster, the staff and everybody, and I see that opportunity. And that's something that really, really excited me from the start when we saw that L.A. could be an option," Dubois said."
LA is hopeful that this is the move that will help get them over the hump. As a franchise, they haven’t won a playoff series since 2014, so the pressure is on next season.