Capitals’ general manager Brian MacLellan shared on Breakdown Day that he believes Darcy Kuemper will “have a good year next year”, signaling he was open to the 2022 Stanley Cup champion goaltender returning to DC. But around the league, there are some who think there’s a trade to be made.
Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek shared what he heard on the latest episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast. Marek described a conversation he had about Kuemper and Los Angeles Kings forward Pierre-Luc Dubois with someone from an unrelated NHL team. The unnamed party mentioned their belief that a trade based around Kuemper and Dubois could be a possibility.
Elliotte Friedman: And Jeff one last thing before we wrap up this first segment. Rob Blake is speaking Monday in Los Angeles. We’ll hear, for sure, but it seems like he’ll be returning as GM and I will tell you, I’ve had a number of people that listened to our conversations about (Pierre-Luc) Dubois and said ‘no way they buy him out.’
Jeff Marek: It’s interesting. I threw this in my Fries Blog on Sunday, there was one person from another team that I talked to — not LA, not Washington — who wondered if a Pierre-Luc Dubois Darcy Kuemper deal would make some sense, unless, again, the Los Angeles Kings are still committed to making this thing work.
Elliotte Friedman: And Jeff, as you pointed out, [Dubois’s] no-move clause does not kick in until July 1.
Jeff Marek: Duh-duh-duh-Duhnnnnnn! I wonder if he comes back as a winger? I really do.
Elliotte Friedman: Whatever you do, you can’t come back as the same thing. You’ve got to say it didn’t work this year, what are we going to do to make it work?
Dubois was dealt to the Kings by the Winnipeg Jets in June right before the 2023 NHL Draft. The 25-year-old, former third-overall pick then immediately signed an eight-year, $68 million extension with Los Angeles, locking him up through the 2030-31 campaign.
The Quebec native struggled in his first year with the Kings, playing subpar for a center being paid $8.5 million against the salary cap. In 82 games, PLD managed just 40 points (16g, 24a) while in Winnipeg, Gabe Vilardi, one of three players dealt for Dubois, amassed 36 points (22g, 14a) in just 47 games.
Dubois set his career-high in scoring, 63 points, with the Jets last year but reportedly refused to sign a long-term deal with the club despite the good fit. His reluctance to play ball with the Jets mirrored how the end of his stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets went. After requesting a trade from Columbus, Dubois was benched by then-head coach John Tortorella after bouts of lackadaisical play.
This is Dubois’ third team where there have been significant performance issues and while he said last week he’d “do anything to be better” it sounds like patience is already thin. And while we wonder if the Kings would get a special carve out to buy Dubois out at 1/3 instead of 2/3 the fact we’re even having the discussion after year one of an eight-year deal is telling. If nothing comes of all the buyout talk and he goes back to the Kings next season, does he do so not as a centre, but rather a winger?
The Capitals have shown previous interest in Dubois in 2021 when nearly half the league was reportedly inquiring about what it would take to pry him from the Blue Jackets. Washington will have the cap space to fit Dubois in their current plans and have expressed prior interest in acquiring a proven, young playmaker that can immediately jump into their top-six forward group.
On July 1, Dubois’ full no-movement clause will kick in for the next four seasons. The big forward would not be able to block a hypothetical trade to the Capitals, but Washington would probably want to ensure he approves of them anyway given his history.
The Kings could be interested in Kuemper as they do not yet have a single goaltender in their organization under contract for next season. Los Angeles also has familiarity with the veteran backstop as he made 15 starts for the Kings during the 2017-18 campaign.
Kuemper, 33, is coming off of his worst full season in the NHL. The netminder posted career lows in goals against average (3.31) and save percentage (.890). He finished the season with a win/loss record under .500 (13-14-3) and did not win a game after February 26.
If the Capitals do move Kuemper, they would have ready-made replacements to play backup to Charlie Lindgren in elite AHL goaltenders Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson. Per Cap Friendly, Kuemper does have a 15-team no-trade list that becomes a 10-team no-trade list on June 1.
The offseason is also when most teams try to move or acquire goaltending as Friedman states not many teams are too keen on midseason deals in net. Outside of Washington and Kuemper, the Nashville Predators reportedly also want to figure out what they’re doing with former Vezina Trophy finalist, Juuse Saros.
“Some teams out there aren’t crazy about trading for goalies at the deadline,” Friedman said. The Devils did it. They traded for two: Kahkonen and Jake Allen. And it gave them a bump for a little bit but that was more of a hail mary as opposed to anything else and a free look at those guys.
“If you take a look at, if you remember Ryan Miller talking about how hard it was to be traded midseason, Dwayne Roloson was a success story. He got Edmonton to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006. If this doesn’t work out, someone just says, Saros is Saros and we’ll take our chances. I can hardly blame them for that. But, I mean, not purely Nashville’s decision. Saros is going to have a hammer being one year out of free agency.”
