LA certainly has had an interesting offseason so far...
Shortly after the Los Angeles Kings were eliminated from the playoffs by the Edmonton Oilers for the second year in a row, you just got the feeling that General Manager Rob Blake wanted to make a splash. The team needed to make some upgrades to ensure that their performance wouldn't happen again.
The team started off their offseason by making a cap space-saving trade to give them some flexibility to work with. But the big move for LA was them trading for Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois and then signing him to an eight-year deal worth $68 million. Adding Dubois gives the Kings a true offensive weapon to add to this squad and a star on the roster.
But despite the strong offseason for the Kings, some aren't completely sold on It. Sara Civian of Bleacher Report gave a one-word answer to describe each team's offseason so far, and the word given to the Kings is interesting, to say the least. That word is gutsy.
"Betting on Pierre-Luc Dubois via an eight-year, $68 million contract is a gutsy move that could pay off in a way that has the rest of the league jealous or could handcuff them into a missed opportunity at a Cup run."
In a way, I agree with Civian because Dubois is a great talent but has had some attitude issues in the past. If he can remain happy with the organization, then it will have been a steal. He gives them a true weapon to use on offense, and it then forces defenses to make sure they know where he is at all times.
He is the definition of a power move in the NHL, and the Kings should benefit from this. The team hasn't won a playoff series since 2014, when they last won the Stanley Cup so swinging for the fences is probably their best move here.