Kings make big decision on future of Pierre-Luc Dubois

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Cooper Godin
May 7, 2024 (9:00)

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The Los Angeles Kings made a big splash last summer, acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets and then signing him to an eight-year contract extension.

General Manager Rob Blake paid a big price to acquire Dubois last year, sending Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi, Rasmus Kupari and a 2024 second-round pick to the Jets. However, the 25-year-old didn't play up to expectations and saw his production drop by 23 points in his first season in the City of Angels.

There was a lot of speculation in recent days if the Kings would explore buying out Dubois' contract, but General Manager Rob Blake shut down those rumours on Monday and told reporters that they want to focus on making him a better player.

"We need to make him better," Blake said on Monday. "He's had a consistent performance over his career so far and deviated from that this year. It's up to us to help him become more productive to us."

Dubois, a native of Ste-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, appeared in all 82 games in the regular season for the first time since 2018-19, when he was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. In those 82 games this season, Dubois had 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists), 70 penalty minutes and was a minus-nine. He went on to add one goal and 20 penalty minutes in five games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Kings are hoping that Dubois will gain some confidence and can finish the year off strong as he joins Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Hockey Championship in Czechia. Dubois has always played well on the international stage and in 2022, had 13 points in ten games at the World Championship and was named to the media all-star team. A big tournament this month could give him the confidence boost he needs heading into the summer and for next season.