Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporterJun 19, 2024, 04:45 PM ET
CloseRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
The trade is one for one!
The Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings made a “hockey trade” Wednesday, with center Pierre-Luc Dubois going to Washington and goaltender Darcy Kuemper on his way to Los Angeles.
Both players are seemingly in need of a change of scenery. But which GM did better in this deal? Here are our grades for both clubs.
This trade has a chance to right a few wrongs for the Kings, but might be made more damning by the fact the Kings are just eight days shy of the one-year anniversary of when they got Dubois in the first place.
But we’ll get to that shortly.
This particular Dubois trade does accomplish a few items. It starts with the Kings shedding Dubois’ $8.5 million annual cap hit, which Cap Friendly projects gives the club $23.45 million in space this offseason. It provides an additional cushion to address a pending restricted free agent class featuring Quinton Byfield, Carl Grundstrom, Arthur Kaliyev and Blake Lizotte.
It also provides more room for them to potentially re-sign pending unrestricted free agents Viktor Arvidsson and Matt Roy if they elect to go that route.
Landing Kuemper, who won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, is a move that could right one of the Kings’ other proverbial wrongs. After going through a rebuild, the Kings are trying to make that transition from playoff team to serious Western Conference challenger.
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Failing to get out of the first round for three straight seasons has been the biggest hurdle in that plan. Part of that can be contributed to their goaltending situation. Ever since the Kings made the playoffs in the 2021-22 season, they’ve gone through a revolving door of options that has seen them use Pheonix Copley, Joonas Korpisalo, Cal Petersen, Jonathan Quick, David Rittich and Cam Talbot.
There’s a possibility that Kuemper, who has three years left on his contract, could help…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/insider/story/_/id/40388351/nhl-trade-grade-2024-capitals-kings-pierre-luc-dubois-darcy-kuemper
Author : Ryan S. Clark
Publish date : 2024-06-19 21:45:42
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