NHL Rumors: Pierre-Luc Dubois to Los Angeles Kings

In this NHL rumors article, the Los Angeles Kings are making a bid to acquire forward Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets. He has stated he wants to leave Winnipeg. The high-scoring just jumped into the top spot on the Frank Seravalli of dailyfaceoff.com’s trade targets board. He tallied an impressive 27 goals and 36 assists in 73 games this past season. While the Kings have been courting him, his destination of choice has always been the Montreal Canadiens. Still, he is a restricted free agent come July 1st. He has a $6 million salary but will demand in the $9 million range.

Los Angeles Kings Would Love to Add Dubois to Their Arsenal

There’s no doubt Dubois would instantly help the Kings become more of a contender than they’ve been in recent years. Standing 6′-2″, 205 pounds, he also is a physical player who has collected 569 hits in 434 NHL games. In addition, he has 383 penalty minutes to show his grit against opponents. Dubois is an effective offensive player on the power play too with 11 goals and 12 assists last season with the man-advantage.

If the Dubois trade does include Gabe Vilardi, I wonder if there will be a long-term extension in place for him as part of the deal. Vilardi is an RFA with arbitration rights this summer.

— Scott Billeck (@ScottBilleck) June 25, 2023

NHL rumors have included such players as Gabriel Vilardi and/or Alex Iafallo going back the other way in a proposed trade scenario. While Vilardi is an RFA and doesn’t help with the cap space issue, Iafallo earns $4 million on a contract that expires after the 2024-24 season. Adding another $4 million in cap space to the present $9 million the Kings possess would be a huge factor in even considering acquiring Dubois. The Jets would almost certainly demand Vilardi as a return to help the Winnipeg club stay young with a player possessing excellent potential. He collected 23 goals and 18 assists in 63 games last season in a Kings’ uniform. Iafallo had 14 goals, 22 assists in 59 games. So, doing the math those two players could exceed Dubois’s scoring output.

Jets Would be Able to Add Two Centers to Help Their Forward Lines

Vilardi will be 25 in August, and Iafallo will be 30 in December. They both play center and with the Jets possibly losing Mark Scheifele and his 42 goals last season, adding these two forwards would be beneficial. The Jets are in turmoil, as they can possibly be losing Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck. Losing Hellebuyck could be much more devastating than losing Dubois. Then, even former captain Blake Wheeler‘s name has been bantered about as a trade candidate.

If When the Jets trade Dubois, the team will need to regroup and hope they can come together for another playoff run. Adding a couple of players like Vilardi and Iafallo certainly may get them headed in the right direction. Losing a goalie with the skills of Hellebuyck will be near impossible to replace. There are however other goalies involved in NHL rumors to go after. Tristan Jarry and Frederik Andersen are just a couple of names that could interest the Jets to help mind their net. Others may include John Gibson, Antti Raanta, and James Reimer.

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In The End, The Kings Really Have The Best Shot at Acquiring Dubois

While he may want to go to the Canadiens, they really don’t have near the return possibilities compared to the Kings. Over the weekend, there seemed to be a belief that Dubois had settled on Southern California and set his sights on being part of the Kings’ trio of centers alongside Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault. Yet, nothing has been consummated yet. Deals like these can take some time, but with the NHL draft creeping up, there may be little time to get this one in the books.

The Kings still seem to have the upper hand at trading for the power forward, and time will tell. He could be a mainstay in L.A. if he does end up there. Kopitar at 35 and in the last year of his current contract, may retire… who knows? Dubois could then become the main catalyst in LA LA land for years to come. He just turned 25 two days ago, and if he gets his long-term contract with the Kings, he will be around for a while.

Of course, this writer could have it all wrong. He may be headed elsewhere. It just seems that the Kings are the perfect fit for him and his skill set. We should know in a few days… keep your seatbelt fastened!