Capitals taking gamble in acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois

Pierre-Luc Dubois.

The Washington Capitals entered the NHL offseason with a lengthy list of needs. Finding a top center was of the highest priority, but they can check that box after acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.

Washington addressed a glaring need and offloaded a hampering contract by sending goaltender Darcy Kuemper to Los Angeles as part of the deal. However, the Caps also took on a potentially worse contract if Dubois' production doesn't improve.

Dubois, 25, was selected No. 3 overall in 2016 by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Washington will be his fourth team as he enters his eighth NHL season.

Despite a poor 2023-24 season in Los Angeles, tallying only 16 goals and 40 points in 82 games, Washington general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement that Dubois has "immense potential to become a top-tier center." He reached a career-high 63 points in 2022-23 with the Winnipeg Jets before being traded to Los Angeles.

MacLellan is taking a gamble, hoping Dubois will fill the Evgeny Kuznetsov-sized hole in their second line. Kuznetsov was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes at the trade deadline in March.

The price of MacLellan's gamble is reflected in the lack of salary-cap flexibility Washington has. Neither team retained salary in the straight swap — Dubois' contract has an $8.5 million cap hit compared to Kuemper's $5.25 million — meaning Washington inherited an additional $3.25 million in annual cap hit for potentially the next seven seasons, according to CapFriendly.

Kuemper had a suboptimal tenure in Washington, losing his starting role to back up Charlie Lindgren, who tallied a career-high 25 wins in 48 starts last season.

Promoting a goaltender from their AHL affiliate to back up Lindgren may save them some cash, but they still only have $3.7 million in projected cap space after the Dubois trade.

That already includes center Nicklas Backstrom probably spending his final contract year on long-term injured reserve which would be $9.2 million in savings.

If right winger T.J. Oshie, who's dealing with chronic back pain, decides to retire or spend his final contract year on long-term injured reserve as well, Washington would have almost $15 million in cap space, more than enough to add another top player.

MacLellan still probably has a high-profile move or two up his sleeve, but whether that happens before the NHL Draft, slated for June 28-29, has yet to be determined. Due to their limited cap space, nothing else will likely occur before decisions are made on Backstrom's and Oshie's futures.

Dubois is a worthy gamble to take for a Washington team that's in desperate need to get younger. He fits that bill and has two seasons to revamp his already-impressive game.

Skating with Alexander Ovechkin doesn't hurt and could prepare him to potentially take on a leadership role with Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome in the future if all goes well.

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