2024 Kings Seasons In Review – Pierre-Luc Dubois

A look now into the season of forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Dubois was the team’s high-profile acquisition this offseason and his first season with the Kings did not go as planned. Dubois posted 40 points (16-24-40) during his first season in LA, a drop off from the back-to-back 60+ point seasons he posted in Winnipeg before he was acquired. A look into his campaign below.

Pierre-Luc Dubois
LAK Statline –82 games played, 16 goals, 24 assists, -7 rating, 70 penalty minutes
LAK Playoff Statline – 5 games played, 1 goal, 0 assists, even rating, 20 penalty minutes
NHL Possession Metrics (Relative To Kings) – CF% – 52.6% (-1.8%), SCF% – 53.7% (+0.4%), HDCF% – 51.3% (-2.6%)

Trending Up – The most positive aspect of the season for Dubois was his playmaking ability with the puck. Dubois posted 5-on-5 career highs in terms of primary assists and overall assists on a per/60 basis. Dubois was also one of the team’s best in terms of controlled zone entries and controlled zone entries that directly led to scoring chances. No regular forward on the Kings had a higher percentage of their controlled zone entries directly lead to a scoring chance than Dubois did, both in terms of carry-ins and overall zone entries. Dubois was eager to get the puck into the slot when it was on his stick, as is reflected in the numbers. One of his biggest strengths was gaining the offensive zone with possession of the puck. A combination that should serve a team well when looking to get more offensive opportunities from the slot going forward.

I’m also going to give Dubois some credit for extending his season with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships. It wasn’t something he had to do but I think there was benefit to him going and participating. Dubois had nine points (4-5-9) from 10 games played for his country and got experience playing on the wing, in higher in the lineup role, finding success in doing so. It’s something that could serve him well next season. Dubois committed to having a strong summer to set him up well going into next year and the World Championships were a good first step in that process. He was able to end his season on a higher note than the playoff series versus Edmonton and it gives him a bit of momentum heading into the offseason.

Trending Down –Look, season one for Dubois was a big disappointment. He said as much, Jim Hiller said as much, Rob Blake said as much. He was brought in to help bring the Kings to another level, in an effort to create one of the NHL’s deepest teams down the middle of the ice. It did not pan out the way that it was envisioned to. The point totals were what they were, as he finished more than 20 points shy of his 2022-23 totals in Winnipeg but it’s about more than that. The impact, game-to-game, was simply not where it needed to be this season and there aren’t a ton of numbers that are needed to support or disprove that. Dubois said bluntly that he needs to be better and to help push the franchise forward and that is absolutely the case.

There was hope here that in the postseason, Dubois would be able to deliver the level of performance that everyone thought would come throughout the course of the season. The way the Kings were constructed was based around the concept of the team having multiple lines that created matchup difficulties and he’s a player who stepped up his game in the past. Not how things played out. Dubois ranked at the bottom of the list among Kings forwards in CF%, SCF% and HDCF%. He scored a late goal in Game 1 but his overall output was just that one goal from five games played. His totals were even in terms of on-ice goals for and against at 5-on-5 but the Kings certainly didn’t get the matchup advantages they were hoping for in that series, with that line falling short of expectations. Dubois owns his part in that.

2024-25 Outlook– Dubois is here for the long haul. He’s got seven years left on the contract he signed last summer and has a no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1. General Manager Rob Blake indicated during his end-of-season availability that the team will not use a buyout on Dubois, so the onus is on both team and player to make the situation better. Dubois said all the right things during his end-of-season interview and has committed to having a strong summer and turning things around going into next year. The proof will be in the pudding. He didn’t forget how to be an effective player but he was not that this season. The only way forward right now is to make things work. Whether that’s at center, whether that’s on the wing, whether that’s finding the most effective linemates in either position or whether it’s simply a commitment from Dubois……both he and the Kings have to make his situation work and they’ve got to make it work this coming season to push the group forward.