Pierre-Luc Dubois will continue his career with the Los Angeles Kings. The trade was completed between the Winnipeg Jets and the Kings on Tuesday afternoon.
In return, the Jets receive players Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, as well as a second-round pick in 2024, the one that belonged to the Canadiens.
Dubois agreed to an eight-year contract extension at an average annual salary of $8.5 million.
“My dream is to win the Stanley Cup. When I look at the organization, the players and the staff, I see this opportunity is there. It’s something that I liked from the beginning, since I saw that Los Angeles could be an option. Our job is to play hockey, but we also have other times and days off. I’ve always lived through winters and snow, so being able to be in the city of Los Angeles is exciting. Eight years is a lot, but I’m sure it was a good decision,” Dubois told the media on Tuesday about the length of his contract.
Dubois will join a team that already has a lot of talent as a center player, with Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault.
“The opportunity to play with two centers like them is very exciting. I played six years in the NHL, but I have a lot to learn and they are players who we look up to in all aspects of the game, whether it’s offensively, defensively or in the face-off circle. In my position, it’s an incredible opportunity to get to know her and learn from them,” Dubois said.
In the last few days, several reports reported that the Montreal Canadiens had made a last-ditch effort to agree with the Jets for the services of the Quebec striker.
We have acquired forward Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for F Alex Iafallo, F Rasmus Kupari, F Gabriel Vilardi and a second-round draft pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
In addition, Dubois agreed to terms on an eight-year contract.
More details 📲… pic.twitter.com/O85qzDMuva
— LA Kings (@LAKings)
June 27, 2023
The Habs would have been ready to give up hopes and draft picks, but the Jets were instead looking for players who could play in the National Hockey League right now.
Dubois had been on his way out of Winnipeg since he told team management that he didn’t want a long-term deal with them. In 73 games last season, he scored 27 goals and had 36 assists. In his career, he has 129 goals and 173 assists in 434 games.
“There was one season left before I became an unrestricted free agent. With no contract in hand, we thought now was the right time to let the team know this was the path we wanted to take. We wanted to be as transparent as possible with the Jets,” Dubois said of his wish to leave the team.
Dubois explained that his desire to leave the Jets was not a disavowal of Winnipeg or the organization.
“I saw an opportunity with the Kings. It’s like a dream come true. To be able to play for this organization and become teammates with some players that I idolized when I was younger, it will be a very pleasant experience. “
Vilardi will be a key element that allowed the Kings to acquire Dubois. A former first-round pick who is now 23, Vilardi had the best season of his career in 2022-23 with 41 points (23 goals and 18 assists) in 63 games.
At 29, Iafalo will bring some experience to Winnipeg. Never drafted, he played the first six seasons of his career in California, with Los Angeles. In 59 games last season, he provided 14 goals and 22 assists for a total of 36 points.
Finally, Kupari is a 23-year-old center who played 66 games with the Kings last season, amassing 15 points, including three goals. He also played 11 games in the American League.
The Kings also traded the 2024 second-round pick that originally belonged to the Canadiens. This pick was first traded to the Arizona Coyotes two years ago, in the trade that brought Christian Dvorak to Montreal. Arizona then traded that pick to the Kings on Saturday to get defenseman Sean Durzi.
