The rumor mill is churning, and the Kings seem to have found themselves linked to the disgruntled Pierre-Luc Dubois. But can the Kings actually make it work? Putting organizational morals and discontentment aside, what are the implications of the Kings adding one PLD to the lineup, and can they make it work?
Short answer:
Yes, but will require some masterful cap shenanigans and negotiating skills from Rob Blake, as well as some luck, and getting the young stars to buy into the process.
Long answer:
What do the Kings give up for Dubois? Well, there's a pretty good comparable on the Kings current roster in Kevin Fiala. Last offseason, the Kings traded the 24th overall selection and prospect Brock Faber for the then 25 year old winger's RFA rights. It's not far fetched to say the Kings could get the soon-to-be 25 year old centre for a future 1st, Sean Durzi, and an extra sweetener.
The first issue post trade lies in what Dubois' reported asking point is on his next contract. According to Elliotte Friedman, who spun this rumor into action, Dubois' camp is looking for something "in the range of Dylan Larkin (8.7M) to Mat Barzal (9.15M)" Now the Kings likely don't trade for him without an extension, so for simplicities sake, let's meet in the middle, say 8.925M on an 7 year deal. Could the Kings get him down closer to 8.5M? Possibly, but we'll stick with that for now.
To accommodate this incoming salary, the Kings will likely have to ship out Viktor Arvidsson, Alex Iafallo and Sean Durzi (see above). Assuming Gabe Vilardi signs a decent bridge deal, this is fine.
The Kings will then have to rely on some young players taking a step forward this season due to the squeeze the PLD contract puts on the cap. Players like Tobias Bjornfot, Arthur Kaliyev and Jordan Spence/Brandt Clarke will have to be called upon for regular shifts in the top 9/top 6. This leaves the Kings starting lineup at:
Anderson - Doughty
Gavrikov - Spence/Roy
Bjornfot - Roy/Spence
or some variation. Doesn't seem bad, if not for one glaring issue:
Pheonix Copley sits as the lone goalie on the Kings roster, and once you add in a 13th forward and 7th D there isn't even enough cap to have Matt Villalta sit on the bench. The Kings aren't going to want to go into next season with Copley as the starter.
The one saving grace for this is for Rob Blake to work his magic and somehow acquire Karel Vejmelka 50% retained from the Coyotes (even better if he can get a 3rd party to get him down to ~650k). This means Grundstrom gets shipped out and replaced by somebody like Samuel F-mo.
The consensus? Adding Dubois would be a great move from purely a talent standpoint, but the cap hoops required to jump through to build a contending roster with him on board doesn't make it worthwhile, unless Dubois wants to get off his high horse and lower his contract demands.
Unlikely the Kings trade for Dubois without him signing a long term extension, which his asking price is, as reported by Friedman, “in the range of Larkin (8.7M) to Barzal (9.12M)”. A tall ask, but we’ll work with it for now.
I’d want one of byfield or vilardi from La. Need a young forward (preferably centre) coming back in a PLD deal. Fiala is a scoring winger. PLD is a two way centre, and is a powerforward to boot. He will certainly cost more than fiala (who got a bit of a haul in his own right).
Yeah, it would be really interesting if PLD is traded to LA. There would need to be a fair number of moving pieces. If the Jets rebuild they can absorb that cap of those 3 and they are still useful players. As you say however, the rub will be what else goes where to make the deal work.
Yeah, it would be really interesting if PLD is traded to LA. There would need to be a fair number of moving pieces. If the Jets rebuild they can absorb that cap of those 3 and they are still useful players. As you say however, the rub will be what else goes where to make the deal work.
Yeah there’s a lot of moving pieces required to make it work from the Kings end. The initial deal is less of an issue than the proceeding dominoes that fall to piece him in.
Yeah there’s a lot of moving pieces required to make it work from the Kings end. The initial deal is less of an issue than the proceeding dominoes that fall to piece him in.
We just have to get the stupid SC over with, so we can get to the important off season stuff!
Why do the Kings really want to invest so much in a 2nd line centre, especially when the Kings have so many young centres.
For all the love for PLD, his production isn't much different than Arvidsson and no THAT more than Iaffello.
I disagree with your statement "Adding Dubois would be a great move from purely a talent standpoint". Really?>
I’d want one of byfield or vilardi from La. Need a young forward (preferably centre) coming back in a PLD deal. Fiala is a scoring winger. PLD is a two way centre, and is a powerforward to boot. He will certainly cost more than fiala (who got a bit of a haul in his own right).
You may be right, but the Kings are subtracting enough just to get him in the lineup. They aren’t going to further subtract by trading Vilardi or Byfield.
I think the Jets would do better to look elsewhere though, to somebody than can better afford to give them what they want.
A perfect and tellingly accurate analysis of why this clickbait rumor is not a practical, let alone intelligent, possibility. The roster disruption caused by one single addition totals four players out plus draft picks, which we don't have in plentitude.
Acquiring Hellebuyck can at least be justified because goaltender is a position of need, and his cap hit with retention can be absorbed without too much dislocation. Dubois is a problem, not a solution, because Kopitar and Danault are perfectly fine for our two top lines this season and one of Vilardi or Byfield should be ready in another year.
Our team is coming along fine. Our weaknesses that have to be addressed are at LhD (somewhat lessened by the events of earlier this month) and goaltender. I can't wait for this bad idea of Elliotte Friedman's to die its natural and well-deserved death.
You may be right, but the Kings are subtracting enough just to get him in the lineup. They aren’t going to further subtract by trading Vilardi or Byfield.
I think the Jets would do better to look elsewhere though, to somebody than can better afford to give them what they want.
It doesn’t need to be that much subtracting though. Say, subtract vilardi, Iaffalo and a 1st. Move durzi elsewhere. And I think that could fit. Probably one more move like arvidsson or Roy and your good from a cap perspective. If the kings are truly interested in him, LA has some peices the jets would be interested in, but LA has to be willing to move those pieces.
Why do the Kings really want to invest so much in a 2nd line centre, especially when the Kings have so many young centres.
For all the love for PLD, his production isn't much different than Arvidsson and no THAT more than Iaffello.
I disagree with your statement "Adding Dubois would be a great move from purely a talent standpoint". Really?>
For that first point alone I don’t think the Kings seriously pursue PLD. They want Byfield to inherit that top 6 C role behind Kopi.
I think the value though comes from the fact that Dubois could be considered a long term asset compared to Arvidsson, Iafallo, etc., and more or less acts as a safety blanket for if Kopitar up and retires next offseason, and Byfield isn’t necessarily ready to be a true 1C.
A perfect and tellingly accurate analysis of why this clickbait rumor is not a practical, let alone intelligent, possibility. The roster disruption caused by one single addition totals four players out plus draft picks, which we don't have in plentitude.
Acquiring Hellebuyck can at least be justified because goaltender is a position of need, and his cap hit with retention can be absorbed without too much dislocation. Dubois is a problem, not a solution, because Kopitar and Danault are perfectly fine for our two top lines this season and one of Vilardi or Byfield should be ready in another year.
Our team is coming along fine. Our weaknesses that have to be addressed are at LhD (somewhat lessened by the events of earlier this month) and goaltender. I can't wait for this bad idea of Elliotte Friedman's to die its natural and well-deserved death.
I see Dubois as a want, and less of a need. Would I be opposed to adding him if he signs cheap enough, can be traded for without impacting the window and doesn’t disrupt the lineup a ton? Sure. Given his current ask, there’s too many moving parts and falling dominoes to make it worth it. It just makes a mess.
It doesn’t need to be that much subtracting though. Say, subtract vilardi, Iaffalo and a 1st. Move durzi elsewhere. And I think that could fit. Probably one more move like arvidsson or Roy and your good from a cap perspective. If the kings are truly interested in him, LA has some peices the jets would be interested in, but LA has to be willing to move those pieces.
Therein lies the issue. I don’t think the Kings are truly interested enough to give the Jets the pieces they want.
There’s an offer like that from another team I’m sure. The Kings would prefer to keep those players though.
I think there are additional possibilities that could work even better. One being that in addition to PLD the Jets retain 50% on Helle, or use Chicago connections to get him down to 25% this year with a handshake extension to be signed July 1st with Kopitar’s money. Then with Dubois and Helle locked up long term with sign and trades, could a couple of bigger pieces shake loose? Maybe the Jets add a Stenlund as a rhc with size that pks for the bottom 6?
The question in my view is more of what is LA willing to part with, not if they can make it fit… it fits.
Likely would cost you that 3rd line winger making $3M
So if PLD expects to get 8.5m, if I'm think it's better to pursue a UFA...like Matthews next season, if they really wanted a difference maker.
This is the route I’d prefer them go. Dubois is asking for too much this season to make it worthwhile.
I’m more or less just trying to shed light on the situation from the Kings’ perspective, now that several analysts have linked them to the Jets and Dubois.
This is the route I’d prefer them go. Dubois is asking for too much this season to make it worthwhile.
I’m more or less just trying to shed light on the situation from the Kings’ perspective, now that several analysts have linked them to the Jets and Dubois.
"Analysts?" A better description would be fiction writers or entertainers. In order to keep their jobs, clicks or however they create revenue, these reporters have to make up stories so they seem relevant. They are constantly trying to outdo each other so they appear to be the smartest guys on the block. Want to listen to them fine, want to entertained by them fine, but I certainly wouldn't believe in 95% of their "insider" knowledge which they want you to believe they have,
"Analysts?" A better description would be fiction writers or entertainers. In order to keep their jobs, clicks or however they create revenue, these reporters have to make up stories so they seem relevant. They are constantly trying to outdo each other so they appear to be the smartest guys on the block. Want to listen to them fine, want to entertained by them fine, but I certainly wouldn't believe in 95% of their "insider" knowledge which they want you to believe they have,
Well I mean, at the end of the day that’s the title Friedman and the sort carry. Friedman has brought a flux of Dubois-to-LA ACGMs to CF, so I figured it’s time to address it from the Kings perspective.
This is the route I’d prefer them go. Dubois is asking for too much this season to make it worthwhile.
I’m more or less just trying to shed light on the situation from the Kings’ perspective, now that several analysts have linked them to the Jets and Dubois.
I'm a Jets fan, I don't see Dubois as a fit for the Kings for a multitude of reasons. Anything is possible but the Kings have a ton of young centers, I assume Kopitar signs a team friendly deal and keeps playing for awhile and their biggest issue to figure out is who's their starting goalie next season, also would think they'd want to keep their options open a bit if Matthews wants to test free agency in a year.
Take it from a Jets fan, trading for this whiny quitter causes more grief then its worth.
I'm a Jets fan, I don't see Dubois as a fit for the Kings for a multitude of reasons. Anything is possible but the Kings have a ton of young centers, I assume Kopitar signs a team friendly deal and keeps playing for awhile and their biggest issue to figure out is who's their starting goalie next season, also would think they'd want to keep their options open a bit if Matthews wants to test free agency in a year.
Take it from a Jets fan, trading for this whiny quitter causes more grief then its worth.
I’m not buying into the rumours too much, but they’re there so I figured it’s time to address it from the other side.
I believe the Kings probably checked in on Dubois, given the position they’re in, but I don’t think they’d actively pursue unless they could get him for a sweet deal without disrupting the roster (which of course, probably doesn’t happen, as shown above).
I think there’s a good deal for the Jets out there, but it won’t be from the Kings.
I’m not buying into the rumours too much, but they’re there so I figured it’s time to address it from the other side.
I believe the Kings probably checked in on Dubois, given the position they’re in, but I don’t think they’d actively pursue unless they could get him for a sweet deal without disrupting the roster (which of course, probably doesn’t happen, as shown above).
I think there’s a good deal for the Jets out there, but it won’t be from the Kings.
I hope you're right about Duchois but I suspect when the dust settles on the Jets trades of Petulant-Luc, Hellebuyck and possibly Scheifele the returns will be pretty underwhelming.
I hope you're right about Duchois but I suspect when the dust settles on the Jets trades of Petulant-Luc, Hellebuyck and possibly Scheifele the returns will be pretty underwhelming.
I can’t speak on Hellebuyck or Scheifele, because those returns depend on whether they’re traded as rentals or sign-and-trades, but I figure someone will bite the bullet on a U25 centre like Dubois.
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