Categories
Dans les coulisses

Rob Blake on Dubois: “It wasn’t a good fit”.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 18: Los Angeles Kings General Manager Rob Blake watches on during an NHL International Series Media Opportunity at Parliament House on September 18, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)

The Kings surprised everyone this afternoon with a major transaction.

Pierre-Luc Dubois was traded to the Capitals and Darcy Kuemper is headed for Los Angeles.

Rob Blake (GM) spoke to the media late this afternoon about the situation, and it’s clear that he’s taking some of the blame.

In fact, Blake told reporters that it simply wasn’t the “right fit” for Dubois in Los Angeles.

He never criticized the player, and he never considered the possibility of buying out his contract…

But Blake maintains that he misjudged the situation from the outset, paying top dollar to get Dubois out of Winnipeg and then offering him a lucrative long-term contract.

(OBOXADSQ || []).push({“cmd”: “addBanner”});

I have a lot of respect for the fact that Rob Blake went before reporters today and was so transparent in his comments.

He told the truth, he wasn’t afraid to take the blame for the situation and he never spat on Dubois even after what happened in the last few months in Los Angeles.

But there are two ways of looking at this.

Rob Blake made a mistake in the first place with the acquisition and contract offered to Pierre-Luc Dubois…

But on the other side of the coin, he managed to trade him before the situation got out of hand.

The Kings’ GM wanted to hit a home run that turned out to be a foul ball. He tried to improve his club, it didn’t work… And he took steps to sort out the situation somehow.

Because you have to understand that the Kings just got rid of a big ball and chain.

Dubois is under contract until the end of the 30-31 season, and the Kings’ GM had to make a decision based on the non-movement clause activated in the player’s contract on July 1.

All’s well that ends well, it seems… Especially for the Kings.

It remains to be seen whether Dubois will be able to find a way to have fun in Washington.

Overtime

– Awesome!

– They should be really good.

– Crazy, too.

– Oh.