What the LA Kings can expect from Pierre-Luc Dubois

In a surprising move that sent shockwaves through the hockey world, the LA Kings have acquired center Pierre-Luc Dubois in a trade with the potential to transform their lineup. The deal, which saw Dubois join the Kings, provides an infusion of talent and addresses critical needs for the team.

On June 27th, the LA Kings traded a second-round pick, forward Rasmus Kupari, Alex Iafallo, and Gabriel Vilardi, to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Dubios was an RFA before the trade but agreed on an eight-year extension carrying an AAV of $8.5 million.

Losing Gabriel Vilardi hurt the most, seeing that he was fresh off a breakout season. But this trade proved that the Kings’ management, recognizing the value and potential of Dubois, were willing to part ways with their young talent to secure a player of his caliber. It only proves how favorably the Kings value Dubois.

In the 2022-23 NHL season, Dubois tallied 27 goals and 63 points in 73 games with the Jets. In the playoffs, he had four points in five games. Intriguing to note that he also has 383 penalties in minutes in 434 NHL games, which shows you that he adores getting down and grungy.

Although the point totals may not seem worth the price tag, the player the LA Kings are getting means a lot more than some digits on a sheet. Pierre-Luc Dubois is a player NHL teams desperately need to win Stanley Cups. Today, we’ll examine what makes Pierre-Luc Dubois a special player.

Strength and Physicality

One thing that is overlooked is how strong and scary of a player PLD is. He’s never afraid to get himself dirty. He does all the hard work for his linemates.

He incorporates big hits, strong forecheck and tenaciousness in his offensive game. He keeps it clean while he asserts dominance on the ice. Whether he provides a little push on the wall or an open-ice hit, he drives his way through to tire opponents out while emptying space. I like to think of him as a bulldozer.

When opponents scramble through the zones attempting to make moves on PLD at increased paces, he closes down on them, limiting options. He’s mastered how to subtly steal chances away from opponents by doing the simple task of giving them less space to work with. Thanks to his tremendous 6’3, 218 size, he’s learned to capitalize on it by almost cramming out any air from opponents.

Another plus from Dubois’ physicality is his ability to shield himself from oncoming potency. This predominantly helps along the boards when he’s in vulnerable positions. He uses a tactic where he moves his hips away from the side and then proceeds to use his butt as a way to get assailants to ricochet off him.

Traits like this give the team an option for an extra forechecker. Dubois loves to chase down pucks. He applies coercion to try and attain guardianship.

If the Kings place him on a line with a player like Kevin Fiala, it’ll give that player the ability to spread out and open up while Dubois successfully hunts down pucks and makes the play.

If Dubois continues to gain the muscle he has so far, he’ll be an even heftier energy on the ice. His ability to shove opponents away and bully them using his mass makes him much more prevalent on the ice.

In Winnipeg, Dubois was always the first to bombard and stalk after the puck. He did it exceptionally cleverly. He would wait until the adversaries disarray, and if they wouldn’t, his applied intimidation would cause them to.

Dubois would never chase purposeless pucks, and he timed his attacks sufficiently. That only adds to the fact that a player like him could make an immaculate net-front presence on the powerplay.

He knows how to push his way to gain open space. In front of the net, he can make space for himself to battle pucks. It offers him the option to bank in pucks. Whether rebounds or bounces, Dubois’ capacity to push his way through and gain space will give him that net-front flexibility.

In the end, a ton of fun to watch him push around and bully competitors. He’s a menace, a guy individuals would preferably play with than against.

Shooting

While Dubois will be successful along the walls and in front of the net, it’s tough not to talk about his shot. An indisputable cannon, Dubois has been able to master how to wire pucks passed goalies. This comes from a masterful combination of shot power, speed, and accuracy. The complete package, essentially.

To start, let’s talk about the swiftness of the shot. Getting the puck off Dubois’ stick isn’t a quick process, but it flies and it’s mesmerizing. Dubois takes time to load up for his shots, which gives him the power. But the way the puck flies passed goalies is unthinkable.

Even though not all of his shots will be rockets, he still manages to make the pucks soar by goalies. He works with whatever he’s got, and it makes him particularly reliable in stressful junctures. He’s been fed horrible passes before. The pucks bobble on his stick, yet he still operates to make the puck fly into the net. Here’s him doing that against the LA Kings:

Goalies can effortlessly save hard shots as that’s what they’re “programmed” to do, but if the gait of the shot doesn’t let the goalie get back in time to hold on to it, it gives the player a boost.

While the load-up speed needs to be cleaned, the way the puck zooms works. Alacritous shots with lots of speed allow them to surpass goalies as they don’t have the proper reaction time. An average player’s shooting can be stopped as that shot is easy to read at its given pace, but with fast pucks, goalies do not have time to digest it. When Dubois shoots, he makes it hard for goalies to respond and read the shot. It gives him a boost over other players.

Now we move on to the power of his shots.

It’s hard to show evidence of how hard his shots are, but it’s genuine. The strength that he uses against others resonates with his shot. When he fires the puck, he leans into the shot and he controls a lot of the flex from his wrist. The mechanics of it are a little technical. It comes from his wrists pressing down on the stick. He digs the blade of his stick into the ice as he rips the puck, which allows it to move while gaining traction.

If it weren’t for how hard he plows on these shots, they wouldn’t be as snappy as they are. The puck is light, and his push is heavy. It’s basic physics when I tell you that mass moves mass. The higher the mass pushing, the more it moves. When heavy moves light, the light goes even faster. That’s what we get when Pierre-Luc Dubois shoots.

As for accuracy, Dubois has an incredibly fun shot. The best part about his shot is how he gets goalies to bite. He even makes viewers peck. With players like Dubois, you expect them to shoot swiftly and tall. He knows how to turn the edge of his blade to make it look like he’ll shoot high, before astounding everyone and beating the goalie low.

Goalies must read the stick and body language to make sure they know where the player shoots. Dubois makes it relatively impossible for goalies to understand which way he goes. It generates a fun split-second game of cat and mouse while Dubois totally fools goalies. A hint of deceptiveness that a lot of players can’t say they have.

Another surprise with him is that Dubois has a terrific one-timer. He times them well and he puts full strength into them. They’re unstoppable missiles. My only problem? He doesn’t use them enough. Hopefully, the Kings present more of those opportunities for him.

A breakdown

Pierre-Luc Dubois is a fast-paced player who relies on an 80s style of hockey. Yet he’s manipulated to contemporize his game as he’s got enough skill to fill up opponent’s nets while being deceptive enough to make high-danger chances for his teammates. He’s a ton of fun when he’s at 100%, and he knows how to outweigh and outsmart opponents. He does that while he harbours a physical go-getter style of hockey.

He’s a treacherous player to play against. He’s not afraid to get his hands dirty to chase out pucks and force his way via the tightest areas. NHL coaches love how he plays because of how scary he is. Whether it’s him cycling on the powerplay, faking out goaltenders and opponents, or even applying a bit of pressure on opponents to cause turnovers, he’s reliable.

Pierre-Luc Dubois is a Swiss army knife that the LA Kings will use in any position. He’s a clutch player who can play a 200-foot game with an advantage whenever it comes to size and power. It’s one thing for players to have that when it comes to the grind of the game, but merging it into skills (like shooting, for instance) is hard. That’s why coaches and GMs value his presence so much.

The improvement areas

Do you remember that one time Dubois put in 5% effort with the Blue Jackets?

We all know how much Dubois wanted out of Columbus then. Although he’s matured a lot since then, his problem is how he still has a few shifts like that.

Dubois periodically has an irresponsible shift that doesn’t see him engaging defensively. He struggles to backcheck at points and his positioning feels off. Dubois can also have winks where he’s too lazy to make a supplementary attempt at breaking plays up. He can poke out his stick to try and break up things, but that’s as far as it goes. You want to see more effort from him, primarily now that he’s been given an eight-year deal.

We all know that he desired out of Columbus and Winnipeg, so we can see why he played the way he did. But in all righteousness, if LA’s willing to trust him like that, they better hope Dubois delivers. LA needs a player who shows up for 60+ minutes, and if Dubois can do that, he’ll be a weapon.

It’s little lazy moments that get him the worst. You must hope that gets sorted out once he’s in Los Angeles.

Aside from that, Dubois doesn’t have too many working areas. The only little tidbits I’d like to see him improve on include how quickly he starts to move when the puck is in front of him and his defensive positioning.

His starts are too slow and he lacks explosiveness off the hop. With an aggressive player like Dubois, you need to make sure he jumps on pucks and explodes while having them. Once he gets the puck, he slows down and decides to not move as fast. I’m not sure if it’s an athletic or cardio issue, but he needs to improve on being able to have fast feet and quick starts.

As for his defensive positioning, he’s in the wrong sports. As a centerman, his job is to be a third defender, but he’s usually a little lost. In his case, he needs to follow the action of the puck more. He often gets wrapped up in little pointless battles, and it distracts him from the puck. This issue is fixable, as they’re tweaks in his game that will go within a week. It’s all about making bad habits into good ones.

As for his skating and explosiveness, it’ll take him some time. But if the Kings can make him into as good of a skater as Quinton Byfield, he’ll be even more dangerous. Of course, if the Kings can make Byfield so fluid, why can’t they with Dubois?

The LA Kings’ acquisition of Pierre-Luc Dubois has sent a clear message to the hockey world: they are serious about their pursuit of success. By addressing their need for a top-line player and securing a player of Dubois’ calibre, the Kings have significantly improved their chances of competing at the highest level. His physicality, shooting, and overall power-forward being will push the LA Kings to be a lot scarier. As mentioned before, NHL teams win cups with players like Dubois.

As the dust of the off-season settles, the Kings and their fans eagerly anticipate the new era that Dubois brings to the franchise, one that promises excitement, growth, and ultimately, a return to championship contention. With the price tag that the LA Kings paid? We hope for something beyond our expectations.

Cover image credit of Sportsnet.Ca

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1 thought on “What the LA Kings can expect from Pierre-Luc Dubois”

  1. LA Kings going to regret trading Gabe Vilardi, for long run he will produce way more points than PLD. They should traded BYFIELD instead.

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