Dubois’ act already old in L.A.

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This article was published 26/01/2024 (620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He is just 46 games into an eight-year contract with the Los Angeles Kings. However, it’s safe to say the bloom is already off the rose when it comes to Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Listen closely and you’ll likely hear plenty of hockey fans in Columbus and Winnipeg shouting “I told you so” at the top of their lungs. The soundbites are growing louder and spicier out of Hollywood, too.

“At the end of the day, whether PL gets four minutes or gets 24 minutes, he has to be a difference-maker,” a clearly frustrated Kings coach Todd McLellan began earlier this week. “And with or without the puck, we’ve gone through this long enough. It’s time.”

To make matters worse, it appears criticism is now coming from inside the room. Veteran defenceman Drew Doughty, for example, fired some not-so-subtle shots that appeared to be aimed in the direction of Dubois (and perhaps others) following Wednesday’s 5-3 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres which left L.A. with just six wins in the last 22 games.

“We’ve got guys in this room that are too worried about themselves, worried about their points,” the two-time Stanley Cup champ growled. “We had a 3-1 lead tonight, and guys started thinking it was a cookie night. It’s about the team, not about yourself. Guys on this team, we need to realize that.”

Heading into action Friday night in Denver against the Colorado Avalanche, Dubois had 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) and was a team-worst minus-14 while often looking disengaged and disinterested in what’s happening around him.

He’s been bounced up and down the lineup, including a stint on the fourth line, and there’s no question more was expected out of the enigmatic 25-year-old who is now on his third big-league team and signed a US$68 million deal (US$8.5 million per year).

Is it the weight of heightened expectations that come with such a huge money deal? Growing pains when it comes to adjusting to new teammates and systems? Or, as many in his previous hockey homes would likely claim, an example of Dubois simply being Dubois?

We here at Dump & Chase can’t answer that, but there’s no question this simmering storyline is one to keep an eye on.

Around the glass:

Could Patrik Laine soon be following in the footsteps of Dubois and headed to a third organization in his young career? According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, that’s certainly a possibility.

Laine, who is under contract two more years at US$8.7 million, is in the midst of a miserable, injury-riddled campaign with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had nine points through 18 games before suffering a broken clavicle that currently has him on injured reserve.

With Columbus once again taking a big step backwards, general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen is “willing to listen” when it comes to offers for Laine and others on his underachieving squad, according to Dreger.

The Blue Jackets might have to eat some money to make it work, but you’d think there could be plenty of suitors for the second-overall pick from 2016, who was traded by Winnipeg in exchange for Dubois in early 2020.

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The other piece of that blockbuster, Jack Roslovic, is not exactly lighting it up in Columbus, either. The Ohio native, who has 10 points in 25 games this year, was left bloodied on Thursday night after Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau — speaking of struggling stars — drilled him from behind and was given a five-minute major.

Roslovic suffered a head injury and didn’t return to the game, which the Blue Jackets won 5-2.

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Cody Glass looked like he’d finally had a breakthrough last year with the Nashville Predators. The sixth-overall pick from 2017 was finally healthy and productive, with career highs in games (72), goals (14) assists (21) and points (35).

Unfortunately, it’s been a much different tale this year for the 24-year-old Winnipeger. He’s suffered two separate significant injuries, to his knee and then shoulder, while also being a healthy scratch for multiple games. All told, Glass has two points (one goal, one assist) through 20 contests.

Here’s hoping he can find his game again.

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Staying on the theme of players with local ties, how about the work of Winnipeg’s Calvin Pickard in helping to get the Edmonton Oilers back on track? Since being called up from the minors to replace the demoted Jack Campbell, Pickard has been sensational with a 5-2 record, a 2.34 goals-against-average and .915 save percentage.

Pickard recorded his first shutout of the year — and his first since 2018-19 with the Philadelphia Flyers — when he stopped 27 shots in a 3-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks which was Edmonton’s 15th straight.

His fine work as the understudy to Stuart Skinner has certainly quieted talk that the Oilers desperately need goaltending help .

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Another Winnipegger, Ryan Reaves is back in town Saturday as his Toronto Maple Leafs face the Jets. He’s likely to be a healthy scratch once again, limited so far to just 21 games (with one goal and no assists) after signing a three-year deal that pays him US$1.35 million.

In hindsight, that appears to have been a major blunder by GM Brad Treliving, both in term and dollars for the now 37-year-old.

It may only be a matter of time before you see Reaves name on the waiver wire, likely heading down to the AHL to clear a roster space.

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Cody Hodgson was once a promising young prospect who began his professional career in Winnipeg as a member of the Manitoba Moose.

The 10th-overall pick from the 2008 draft joined the AHL club, which served at the time as the affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, for both the 2009 playoffs (on an amateur tryout once his junior season ended) and the 2010-11 regular-season. He had 36 points in 63 combined games and seemed destined for big things in the NHL.

Unfortunately, a chronic back injury that eventually led to a diagnosis of malignant hyperthermia, a degenerative muscle disorder which seemingly ended his career in 2016 after just 328 games.

Thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, the now 33-year-old Hodgson is attempting a comeback. He has signed a deal with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL and had an assist in his first game last weekend.

The Admirals host the Moose next Friday, then head to Winnipeg for a pair of games on Feb. 17 and 19.

Programming note: With the NHL on hiatus next weekend for the All-Star Break, Dump & Chase will take a brief timeout so Mike and Ken can rest up for the stretch run. The next edition will appear on Feb. 10.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld