The saga that gripped an entire city is now over. Pierre-Luc Dubois travels to Los Angeles after a major swap between the Winnipeg Jets and the Kings.
The Jets receive Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari in exchange for the Quebec forward, along with a choice of twoe round in 2024.
Dubois also signed an 8-year contract averaging $8.5 million per year. This contract was officially signed with the Jets shortly before the transaction. This allowed Dubois to get an eighth year, as the Kings could only offer him a seven-year contract under the collective bargaining agreement.
Dubois had publicly announced his desire to leave Winnipeg for several weeks while those around him shared his attachment to the Montreal Canadiens, his childhood team. It was enough for City to get excited at the prospect of the arrival of a great center player who scored 27 goals and 63 points in 73 games last season. Especially since Dubois appeared with Cole Caufield at the Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix and then with David Savard at a CF Montreal game.
According to journalists Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger, the Canadian also tried his luck until the last minute, but in the end the Kings’ offer won. Dreger clarified in the morning that “the Canadian had done everything he could to get back in the running but to no avail.” Montreal offered prospects while Winnipeg was looking for NHL-ready players.
A little over an hour before Dubois’ trade, Kent Hughes completed an avalanche to get Alex Newhook. During his briefing with the media present in Nashville, Hughes pointed out that “we couldn’t have done both.” That’s the exchange we made. Hughes never wanted to make it clear that he was after Dubois. “The league doesn’t like to talk about players from other teams,” he explained.
Established Players
The Kings could indeed offer more interesting established players than the CH. Vilardi, 23, is a first-round pick for the Kings in 2017. The tall forward had 23 goals and 41 points in 63 games last season. For his part, Iafallo is 29 years old and has scored 14 goals and 36 points in 59 games. Kupari is a 23-year-old center drafted in the first round in 2018. He had a good upward trajectory until late in the season, becoming a trusted center for coach Todd McLellan.
Ironically, choosing 2e The 2024 tack that the Kings are abandoning was originally that of the Canadian. The Coyotes originally received that election in September 2021 when the Habs acquired Christian Dvorak. The Coyotes then offered the Kings that pick to bring Sean Durzi on Saturday. The Jets now have a year to force this future pick to pack his imaginary bags for a fourth time.
Avid beer trailblazer. Friendly student. Tv geek. Coffee junkie. Total writer. Hipster-friendly internet practitioner. Pop culture fanatic.
