Washington Capitals share their thoughts on the risky Pierre-Luc Dubois acquisition
The Washington Capitals acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings for Darcy Kuemper in the middle of the Stanley Cup Finals. Dubois signed an eight-year, $68 million deal with the Kings before last season but had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2023-24.
The Capitals expect Dubois to be more productive than the 16 goals and 24 assists he gave the Kings last season. They also want him to be a better playoff player than his one garbage-time goal in five games produced in a five-game defeat to the Edmonton Oilers. In a perfect world, Dubois will be Alex Ovechkin's centreman when he breaks Wayne Gretzky's goal record.
Dubois has been meeting his teammates at informal skates before the start of training camp next week. He took some time to sit down with La Presse and discuss his expectations with the new team and his first impressions of the group.
"I enjoyed my conversations with them. Not just the coach, but Brian Maclellan, Tom Wilson... I've been following the Capitals since I joined the league. The city, the arena," Dubois told La Presse's Mathias Brunet. "I watched (Alex) Ovechkin on TV when I was young, and I had it in my head to come back East. All that together, I've been lucky."
Spencer Carbery is known as a player's coach, and there's a belief that he can get the most out of Dubois after a couple of failed experiments. Dubois should try to make a good impression and form a relationship with the coach, as he is beginning to run out of chances.
Dubois acknowledges that his relationship with former Kings head coach Todd McLellan wasn't conducive to a successful tenure. He looked better once the Kings made Jim Hiller the new coach, but it wasn't a good situation.
"Maybe I was the one who was too demanding and wanted to be told what to do. It's obviously my fault that it didn't work out," Dubois said. "You're not supposed to expect those around you to help you gain confidence, but it can help. I tried to rise to the challenge, but I stayed in a gray area all year. I didn't feel at home. The players helped me... but it just wasn't working."
The 2024-25 season will be the most critical of Dubois' career. Can he turn things around and revitalize his career? Or will he be one of the most disappointing stories of the past few years?
Previously on Markerzone
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 10 | 225 ANSWERS Washington Capitals share their thoughts on the risky Pierre-Luc Dubois acquisition How many points will Pierre Luc-Dubois record with the Capitals in 2024-25? | ||
| 30 Points or less | 72 | 32 % |
| 30-45 | 98 | 43.6 % |
| 45-60 | 42 | 18.7 % |
| 60 Points or more | 13 | 5.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
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