The Capitals center missed 47 games earlier in the season and broke his hand in the third-to-final game of the year.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — For Pierre-Luc Dubois, his 2025-26 season with the Washington Capitals didn't go according to plan on multiple levels.
He'd started the year banged up, and then on Halloween, fell right where he was hurting. That led him to miss 47 games earlier in the season after undergoing surgery for injuries to his abdominal and adductor muscles, and as he watched from the sideline, the team struggled, falling out of playoff position.
"It was the first time basically in my career with a serious injury. I missed a lot of time. Mentally, it's never easy," Dubois said. "Been on your couch for a months and skating a little bit and doing the bare minimum in the gym. It wasn't easy...watching from up top and not being able to compete out there with the guys for that long was tough. Yeah, a lot of learning this year, for sure."
Looking back at the season, coach Spencer Carbery stressed again just how much Dubois' absence played a role in the team's struggles and inconsistency.
"Dubie, I think everybody here saw his impact and the previous year of us acquiring him and what he did for our team and how I was able to deploy him and the important and significant minutes he played, plus the production, e felt how big a part of our team success he was," Carbery said. "Him being out there, I cannot stand up here and understate how significant that loss was to not have him."
When Dubois came back, he'd help the team make one last push, but then, another setback with three games to go, as he slid into the boards at PPG Paints Arena and fractured his hand.
He played through it, though, coming back the next day and playing with a broken hand for a key win against the Pittsburgh Penguins that gave D.C. two critical points in the standings.
"I always wondered. You always see guys that do it and you're like, 'I wonder if I could do it,'" Dubois said of playing hurt. "It's not fun, but it's that time of year. Everybody's banged up to a certain extent. It hurt, but I'd do it again if I had to."
The 27-year-old appeared in just 29 games this season, picking up five goals and 14 assists for 19 points. Though his return helped spark the Capitals to a final impressive run, it wasn't enough as the team fell just short of a playoff spot.
"It was very frustrating," Dubois said, later adding, "Nobody likes losing... you learn, but you lose."
Dubois' focus now shifts to the offseason, where he'll rehabilitate and recover from his hand injury. He'll miss the IIHF World Championships, one of the first times he won't play for Canada after missing the playoffs, but after recovering, will get back to work and look ahead to next year.
"There are lessons we can take from this (year)... I think we can learn some things from that going into next season and just have a good training camp," Dubois said. "Going from there, the goal is to play better hockey in April than you did in March and than you did in January and than in October. You got to take steps forward as the season goes on."