The Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday traded center Pierre-Luc Dubois of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, to the Washington Capitals in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Rogers SportsnetFor Dubois, the Capitals are his fourth team in the National Hockey League. He previously played with the Columbus Blue Jackets (2017-2021), the Winnipeg Jets (2021-2023) and the Kings (2023-24). For Kuemper, it is a return to the Kings, for whom he first played in the 2017-18 season. Kuemper also played five seasons for the Minnesota Wild from 2012-2017, the Arizona Coyotes from 2017-2021, the Colorado Avalanche in 2021-22 and the Capitals from 2022-24.
Last season, Dubois scored 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points. He had a -9 record with 70 penalty minutes, eight power play points, four game-winning goals, 146 shots on goal, 440 faceoffs won, 37 blocked shots, 96 hits, 21 turnovers and 30 turnovers. Dubois was supposed to be one of the top six forwards in Los Angeles, but ended up in the bottom six. Dubois’ -9 was the Kings’ second-worst plus/minus. Only Alex Lafrerriere was worse at -14.
Kuemper has one Stanley Cup on his resume. He won it with the Avalanche in 2022. In the 2023-24 season, he posted a record of 13 wins, 14 losses in regulation and three losses in overtime with one shutout, a 3.31 goals-against average and a .890 save percentage. Kuemper’s shutout came in the Capitals’ 2-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on January 16.
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