For the second year in a row Rob Blake has talked about commiting to a faltering player in his exit interview, only to trade them soon after. 

Last year it was Cal Petersen, this year it's Pierre-Luc Dubois. 

In a shocking trade, Blake moved Dubois to the Washington Capitals in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper.  

It's a one-for-one trade with no salary retained. 

Blake has caught a lot of heat for acquiring Dubois in the last 12 months, deservedly so, but he does deserve credit for this move. 

Admitting a mistake and making a move like this takes a lot of guts. 

He also isn't shying away from the responsibility he takes in this move. 

"I don't think I did a good enough job integrating him in the right roles on the team this year," said Blake. "It wasn't a great fit in that aspect for us and we'll take responsibility for that."

Blake then doubled down on this situation being on the team when asked if Dubois shares some responsibility in that poor fit. 

For an organization that has been criticized for lacking transparency and not being realistic, looking at the "we're close" comments from Luc Robitaille, this is a nice step in the right direction from Blake. 

It also follows his admittance that this team lacks a certain "desire to win" along with other issues with roster building. 

It was all talk at first, but Blake's backing it up now. 

Of course, it was Blake's mistake in the first place that put the Kings in this situation, which shouldn't be forgotten. 

But credit where credit is due. A lot of GMs would have doubled down on this move and it seems like Blake was going too. 

There was a "run it back" feel going into this summer and Blake has now blown that up. 

This is the kind of proactive move we haven't seen enough of from Blake. 

They also answered arguably their biggest question in net with Kuemper. 

Yes, he struggled in Washington, but the Kings play a goalie friendly system that often gets the best out of their netminders. 

If they can get Kuemper back to anywhere near his play in Colorado, they'll be in a good spot. 

They also add cap space to re-sign Quinton Byfield and add pieces elsewhere in the lineup this summer.  

Blake made a big mistake acquiring Dubois in the first place, that shouldn't be ignored, but that doesn't mean he deserves no credit for this move. 

Fair play to Blake, he's making the most out of a bad move and that's all you can ask of him at this point.