Pierre-Luc Dubois knows he has a big off-season ahead of him.
In his first season with the Los Angeles Kings, Dubois’s production was not exactly what the Kings had in mind when they traded Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a second-round pick for him. Especially for a player who was awarded an eight-year, $68-million contract before the season began.
Dubois finished this season with just 16 goals and 40 points this season in 82 games, well below the 63 points in 73 games he had the Winnipeg Jets in 2022-23.
In the Kings’ first-round series against the Edmonton Oilers, where they were eliminated in five games, Dubois managed just one garbage-time goal in Game 1.
At his end-of-season availabilities on Friday, Dubois vowed to be better next season by any means necessary.
“I’m committed to having a better season,” Dubois said. “I’ll do anything to be better.”
The 25-year-old forward knows what he can bring to a team, and said sometimes it’s just a matter of getting comfortable in new surroundings.
“I know I can do better,” Dubois said. “My first year in Winnipeg didn’t go well, it was kind of the same thing. A lot of new things, new role, new everything. I didn’t panic, I knew what I could do. … I’m not panicking, I’m not stressed.”
Was Dubois happy with his season? No. But he also knows he’s not far removed from being a top player in the NHL and that it’s on him to recapture his form.
“Is it frustrating? Sure. Is it hard? Yeah,” Dubois said. “It was eight months or a year ago I was playing how I can play. It’s not lost. I gotta get back to it, and that’s on me.”
Now whether the Kings give him a chance to figure things out is another question. As Sportsnet’s Rory Boylen pointed out Friday, the Kings have essentially three options with Dubois: They could buy him out, trade him or keep him and hope for the best.
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Dubois was asked if he was worried about his future in Los Angeles on Friday and said the only thing he can control is how good of an off-season he has. Anything else that happens he will take as it comes.
“I can’t. It’s out of my control,” Dubois said when asked if he had any concerns about being bought out of his contract. “I’m a firm believer in everything happens for a reason. … I just gotta have the summer I know I can have. Anything else is out of my control. I can’t sit here and give you any more than that.”
