Capitals Acquire Pierre-Luc Dubois from Kings for Darcy Kuemper

The Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings are swapping big-time players. Pierre-Luc Dubois is heading to DC, while Darcy Kuemper is now a King. There is no salary retention from either club in the trade.

We have acquired goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the Washington Capitals in exchange for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois.

Full Release 📲 https://t.co/LvPZOQs7GX #GoKingsGo | @Enterprise pic.twitter.com/j0Mana5Mc8
— LA Kings (@LAKings) June 19, 2024

Dubois has been the subject of both buyout and trade rumors. After inking his big eight-year deal with the Kings, the fit was just not there, as he struggled to find his game offensively. Now, he is getting a fresh start with the Capitals and will look to regain his previous form.

The Capitals have needed help down the middle for quite some time, and if Dubois bounces back, he will provide them with just that. He has shown in the past that he can be a legitimate star, and now it will be fun to see what he can do with Alex Ovechkin.

After missing out on rumored target Jacob Markstrom, the Kings have now found their goalie in Darcy Kuemper. Similar to Dubois, Kuemper had a down year in 2023-24, but given his past success, there is reason to believe he can regain his old form. He will now look to provide some much-needed stability to the Kings' crease.

This is certainly a big gamble for the Capitals, as Dubois has an $8.5 million cap hit for the next seven seasons. As for Kuemper, he has a $5.25 million cap hit until the completion of the 2026-27 campaign.

Dubois appeared in 82 games this season with the Kings, posting 16 goals and 40 points. Kuemper had a 13-14-3 record, a 3.31 GAA, and a .890 SV% in 33 games.