LOS ANGELES — Rob Blake solved his goaltending problem and eliminated one of the worst plays of his seven years as vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.
Blake and the Kings acquired goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the Washington Capitals for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois in a trade of expensive, underperforming players.
“I don’t think I did a good enough job of integrating him into the right roles on the team. I think it wasn’t a good fit in that regard for us, and we take responsibility for that,” Blake told reporters a few hours after the trade was announced.
Kuemper was the second goaltender to be traded after the New Jersey Devils signed Jacob Markstrom from Calgary.
Los Angeles didn’t have much cap space heading into the offseason after it acquired Dubois from Winnipeg and signed him to an eight-year, $68 million contract last season. The center struggled and had career lows during a full season in goals (16) and points (40).
Dubois, who turns 26, was demoted to the Kings’ fourth-string seed in the playoffs when they lost in five games in the first round to eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton.
Blake and the Kings were running out of time to make a decision on Dubois’ future. The league’s contract termination period is 48 hours after the last game of the Stanley Cup Final. If Florida beat Edmonton, Dubois’ buyout would have been one-third of his remaining base salary, as he would still have 25 years.
If the series went further and ended on Monday, the acquisition would have gone to two thirds, as he turns 26 on June 24th.
Dubois also had a no-trade clause that would go into effect on July 1.
Blake said that a buyout was not an option and cited that the timing was essential to reach a deal with the Capitals. The teams began discussing the trade during last week’s NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo.
Los Angeles, which hasn’t won a playoff series since winning its second Stanley Cup title in three years in 2014, was searching for a goaltender. Before acquiring Kuemper, David Rittich was the only Kings goaltender under contract for next season.
Kuemper, who has three seasons remaining on a five-year, $26.25 million contract he signed with Washington in 2022, ended up being Charlie Lindgren’s backup when the Capitals were swept in four games in the first round by the New York Rangers.
Kuemper, 34, played in 33 games, starting 30 for Washington last season. He was 13-14-3 with a 3.31 goals-against average and one shutout.
Kuemper played for five teams during his 12-year NHL career, including the Kings. He signed with Los Angeles as a free agent in 2017 and went 10-1-3 with a 2.10 GAA in 19 games (15 starts) before being traded to Arizona near the 2018 trade deadline.
Blake hopes the duo of Kuemper and Rittich can provide stability in net for at least a few seasons.
“We have had to turn to different goalkeepers here in recent years due to different circumstances. But we take comfort in these two taking us where we want to go,” Blake said.
This will be Dubois’ fourth team in eight seasons. He forced a trade to Los Angeles last year after telling Winnipeg he intended to become an unrestricted free agent when his contract expired after the 2023-24 season.
The Jets acquired Dubois from Columbus in January 2021 after he said he no longer wanted to play for the Blue Jackets, who drafted him third overall in 2016.
Getting Dubois fills a hole at center for the Capitals, who traded Evgeny Kuznetsov to Carolina at the deadline, and eliminates a goaltending logjam. They would like Clay Stevenson to earn a promotion to the NHL, or for the 25-year-old to start in the American Hockey League if Hunter Shepard gets approval to play alongside Lindgren next season.
The Capitals hope Dubois returns to his previous form. He had career-highs of 63 points and 36 assists in 2022-23 and has scored at least 20 goals four times.
“We are excited to announce the addition of Pierre-Luc to the Caps organization,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. “This acquisition brings a talented 25-year-old with immense potential to become a top-tier center in the NHL. With his size, exceptional skating and high hockey IQ, we are confident he will thrive in our organization with greater responsibility and opportunity.”
