Kings Reflect On Pierre-Luc Dubois' Success With Capitals & Why It Didn't Work Out For Him In LA; What Dubois Had To Say

Capitals center Pierre-Luc Dubois has as many assists as he had points with THE Kings last season. (Geoff Burke — Imagn Images)

When the Los Angeles Kings traded Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Washington Capitals for Darcy Kuemper, they knew they were giving up a player with a lot of potential. But in the end, the move was necessary, as things just weren't working out.

Now, Dubois is thriving with the Capitals with 58 points in 63 games, and his 29 assists at 5-on-5 are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL. In total, he has as many assists as he had points last season with the Kings, and ultimately, L.A. isn't shocked to see him doing well.

"I don't think anybody doubted the quality of player that he was, and nobody's surprised at the season he's having," Kings coach Jim Hiller told NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

When it comes to why things didn't work out in L.A., Hiller wouldn't go into specifics, but did say he wished that things had gone down differently.

"I think we all hoped that it would've worked out better. PL too, and just for whatever reasons, it didn't seem to click for him here," Hiller said, adding, "Just for whatever reasons, it's one of those times; different time, different place, it could've been different. We don't look at it too much in hindsight."

Still, Hiller did tell reporters on Thursday that Dubois did make an impact during his short tenure and was a good teammate, even though he couldn't find consistency on the ice.

At the end of the day, the Kings believe that both sides benefitted from the trade, as the team has been happy with Kuemper's performance this season. Through 36 games with L.A., Kuemper has 20 wins, two shutouts and a .915 save percentage.

"We're just happy we have Darcy, we're happy PL's doing good," Hiller said.

Dubois makes his return to L.A. for the first time since the trade on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET, while Kuemper will make his first start against D.C. since being dealt.

For Dubois, he said that "mutual respect" and feeling like he can be his own player has helped him thrive in the District.

Pierre-Luc Dubois Has Finally Found His Fit, Opens Up About Why Capitals Have Worked Out So Perfectly: 'Mutual Respect... Feels Like Home'The 26-year-old has points in 10 of his last 11 games.

"Everybody wants to feel appreciated. Like I said at the beginning of the year, I thought I was playing well and the points weren't following as much. I thought I wasn't as lucky in getting those bounces, but I never felt like the guys in here asked for more," Dubois said. "I felt like the guys in here appreciate what I did and what I do, whether it's offensively, whether it's 6-on-5, I mean anything. When you're in an environment like that... that's the environment that it's fun for everybody and everybody can just be themselves."

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