Pierre-Luc Dubois is having a difficult start with the Los Angeles Kings. Record of 10 goals and 10 assists for a total of 20 points in his first 47 games in California. And a differential of minus 16, the worst among the Kings. Imagine if it had been like this with the Canadian?
• Read also: NHL: Todd McLellan has had enough of Pierre-Luc Dubois
Of course, an exchange cannot be evaluated in the space of four months. Dubois has time to redeem himself. But they also say that the best deals are the ones you don’t make.
Readers who have done me the honor of following my writings for a long time know the support I give to Quebec players and coaches. The Canadiens organization has obligations towards them and its loyal customers. The more local players there are in the blue, white and red uniforms, the better.
The only condition is to have the right ones.
He saw himself in LA
Could Dubois have helped the Canadian?
As far as I’m concerned, I had reservations about his possible coming to Montreal. Moreover, this marriage did not seem in the stars. There was no sense of interest between the parties.
Shortly before Dubois moved from the Winnipeg Jets to the Kings, a senior Jets executive told me that talks with the Canadian were going nowhere. In the weeks following the trade between the Jets and the Kings, Dubois declared that he did not see himself with any other formation than that of the Kings.
Let’s remember what the Jets acquired in return for Dubois’ services.
Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Kupari were first-round picks by the Kings. Vilardi had been chosen at 11e rank in 2017. A six-foot-three, 216-pound colossus, he scored 23 goals in 63 games last season. Victim of two injuries this season, he missed around twenty matches. He still has a record of 11 goals and 20 points in 27 games.
As for Kupari, it’s not an easy task. He only has one assist in 21 games.
The Jets got another player in Alex Iafallo who the Kings had signed as a free agent. Iafallo is an energy player who produced at an average rate of 34 points per season during his six seasons in Los Angeles. He has 18 points in 47 games so far this season.
Finally, the Kings gave the Jets their second round pick in next June’s draft.
What would the price have been?
Let’s do the exercise with the same data for the Canadian.
First-round picks who are part of the team or the Laval Rocket are Cole Caufield (2019), Kaiden Guhle (2020) and Logan Mailloux (2021). After one game in the American League, Filip Mesar (2022) was traded to the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario League.
We can also think that the Jets perhaps had interest in the Habs’ first round choice in last year’s draft. The Canadian took advantage of this choice to select David Reinbacher fifth overall.
Which players would have been coveted by the Jets?
Your choices are as good as mine!
Good decision by Hughes
All things considered, Kent Hughes did well to stick to his plan. Some might say that’s easy to say now that Dubois is having trouble justifying the eight-year, $68 million contract the Kings gave him.
But it’s not just that.
There is also the fact that this was the second time he asked to be traded, which can have the effect of chilling some general managers.
The first time, it was said that he no longer wanted to play under the orders of John Tortorella, who had notably yelled at him in full view of everyone on the players’ bench, as Pierre Pagé had done with Mats Sundin with the Nordiques. Dubois denied that story tipped the balance, sometime after he was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Jets for Patrik Laine.
The second time, he indicated with one year remaining on his contract with the Jets that he would explore the free agent market at the end of his agreement. The Jets traded him rather than lose him without getting any compensation.
We will also remember the exit of Rick Bowness in the minutes following the elimination of the Jets at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights last spring. Without naming anyone, the Jets coach said his team’s best players had been inferior to those of the Golden Knights.
Dubois was part of the group along with Blake Wheeler, who was stripped of the captain’s role before the season. While Dubois headed to Los Angeles, Wheeler joined the New York Rangers as a free agent.
Today, the Jets are a Cinderella team while the Kings, after a very promising start, continue to slide downward. Last week, Kings coach Todd McLellan blasted Dubois, saying he needed to play like a difference-maker.
At 25 years old and with a generous contract in his pocket, the time has come for Dubois to get down to business once and for all.