Rewind to mid-June last year, Pierre-Luc Dubois was the talk of the town. Pat Brisson, his agent, had told the media his client would like to play for the Montreal Canadiens. That’s all it took to start a media storm of rumours, speculation, and arguments between those who wanted Dubois and those who didn’t. In the end, Dubois landed in Los Angeles with an eight-year contract worth $68 million. A little under a year later, he’s taking off to join the Washington Capitals, his fourth team in eight years. Let’s take a look at the potential reasons for which Kent Hughes wisely passed on the player.
A Demanding Player
Last year wasn’t the first time Dubois asked for a trade, he had also done it to the team that drafted him, the Columbus Blue Jackets. Back in 2020-21, then-Columbus head coach John Tortorella benched Dubois just five games into the season, and it spectacularly backfired when the center voiced his grievances and got himself a one-way ticket to Winnipeg.
It only took Dubois three years to decide he no longer wanted to be a Winnipeg Jet, but he was looking forward to boarding one out of town. The way he did that never sat right with me. He told the team that not only did he have no intention of signing a long-term deal when his contract expired but he wasn’t even willing to sign a one-year deal in Winnipeg to reach free agency. Essentially, he figuratively speaking put a gun to general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff’s head and demanded a trade. Granted, it’s his life and he only has one, but he’s not the only one on earth and he should still play for the team who paid handsomely to get him. Once you become an unrestricted free agent, you’re free to go where you want.
To me, this is an awful way to behave and reveals something about one’s character. NHL players are all supposed to act per the collective bargaining agreement and it’s in that document that the age and conditions to reach unrestricted free agency are established. That was the second time the young player had decided to act as if he was the one in charge and with blatant disregard for the CBA.
What would happen if all players in the NHL acted like this? Some franchises just could not hang on to any superstars, they’d all end up playing in sunny destinations with fewer taxes to pay. There’s a reason why there’s a CBA and players and fans alike would do well to remember that.
An Unrealistic Price Tag
The Jets having given up Patrik Laine to obtain Dubois, understandably wanted a significant return for the Quebecer. However, shoppers wanted to get their money’s worth in the deal and consequently, the signing of an extension was necessary. Back then, there were rumours that the Jets were asking for Nick Suzuki in a trade for Dubois, a proposition almost laughable, but then so was the suggestion to offer Kirby Dach instead (from ‘Winnipeg Jets roster decisions: Who stays and who goes this offseason?’ The Athletic, May 20, 2023).
On top of meeting the Jets’ asking price, the lucky team bidding for Dubois needed to meet his salary demands as well. Considering the kings’ ransom needed to get the Jets to agree to the trade, it was only logical that after Los Angeles negotiated the contract with Dubois, they passed on the terms to Winnipeg so that they could sign the extension, allowing Los Angeles to secure their man for eight years instead of seven.
In the end, the Kings gave the signing rights to Gabe Vilardi and Rasmus Kupari, Alex Iafallo, and Montreal’s 2024 second-round pick (37) to the Jets and an eight-year contract worth $68 million to Dubois.
Related: Grading Kings’ Blockbuster Trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois
If Hughes might have been interested, the hefty price tag must have made him walk away – and who could have blamed him? Why would Hughes want to give that kind of contract to a player who has never outperformed the Canadiens’ top forward and captain Nick Suzuki?
Instead of getting into a bidding war with the Kings, the Canadiens’ GM wisely decided to trade with the Colorado Avalanche for Alex Newhook who he obtained at a much lower price.
Dubois’ Only Season in Los Angeles
After his first and only season as a King, Dubois was traded to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday (June 19) in a straight swap for Darcy Kuemper. The Quebecer had a nightmarish season in Los Angeles. While he played all 82 games, he couldn’t find his groove and from a top-six player, he soon became a third-line player before crashing down to the fourth line towards the end of the season.
His offensive production was completely unacceptable for a player being paid $9 million for the campaign; he put up 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points. That total is the worst of his career, even as a rookie he gathered 48 points. He did end the 2020-21 season with just 21 points, but he had only skated in 46 contests that season because of an injury. The Kings were understandably underwhelmed by their headline-grabbing acquisition and even though they denied considering a buyout, they still found a way to get out of that awful contract.
Los Angeles now has a $5.25 million goaltender for three seasons. Much like Dubois, Kuemper had an awful season finishing with a 13-14-3 record, a 3.31 goals-against average, and a .890 save percentage. The 34-year-old netminder has a cap hit over $3 million lower than Dubois’ and his contract will be over much sooner. I can’t quite understand the Capitals’ thinking on this one…I guess they’re hoping that it was just an off-year and that Dubois can bounce back and feed Alex Ovechkin plenty of pucks to score with and catch up to Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record.
In all honesty, I do hope Dubois bounces back from this and he is happy in Washington, the NHL is better when its best players are shining. For now, those who were upset Hughes did not sell the farm to acquire Dubois must be very glad the GM dodged that bullet. Often the best trades end up being the ones you didn’t do…it’s certainly what it looks like one year on.
