The LA Kings season home opener was played on Wednesday with a 5-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche, but the upside is that the fans got to see newly acquired left-winger Pierre-Luc Dubois, a young player whose star is rising that the Kings have high hopes to help resurrect the team, and restore them to playoff contenders.
The Kings administration must have confidence By in him blossoming into an elite player. They traded Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a second-round draft pick to the Winnipeg Jets and signed Dubois to an eight-year $68 million contract that includes a full no-trade clause for four seasons. A lot of firepower was sacrificed on the forward line with the trade of the three Kings.
Last season with the Jets, Dubois set career highs with 63 points and 36 assists while scoring 20 goals for the fourth time in his career.
"I'm just extremely happy to be here and to be here for a long time, and show really who I am and not just an image of what people think, people that think they know me," Dubois said soon after the trade in June.
Dubois' mission is to help the Kings shatter through the Golden Knights and Oilers and help lead the team to a Stanley Cup.
It will be a challenge, and always is, to contend with the Oilers dynamic duo in Conner McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. That one-two punch is a challenge for any team. But with the addition of Dubois, the Kings will certainly have a fighting chance.
Dubois is a power play threat, which bodes well for the Kings. In the last two seasons, he scored 26 of his 55 goals.
He probably won't be utilized on the penalty kill. He has just 41 short-handed minutes over six years in the NHL.
Instead, the Kings are expecting Dubois to be a force on offense, to augment the other elite players in place like Anze Kopitar.
Just one regular season game has been played, so more will be revealed as the Kings strive to be the best in the West and conquer the opponents in their division.
Mediocrity won't cut it. The Kings will have to rocket themselves to the next dimension to make it to the playoffs.
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