The Kings solved a pair of problems Wednesday by trading expensive but underperforming forward Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Washington Capitals for goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper, a former King, will go to the top of the team’s thin depth chart in goal. The only other goalie on the Kings’ NHL roster is David Rittich, who re-signed with the team last month. The trade is one for one, with no salary retained on either side, which will give the Kings considerable cap space since Kuemper is owed $5.
Following the playoff lost, however, general manager Rob Blake said the team would not buy out his contract. “We need to make him better,” Blake said. “He's had a consistent performance over his career and deviated from that this year. So it's up to us as a staff — coaches and management — to help him become more productive to us.” Instead, he dumped Dubois on the Capitals, whose general manager Brian MacLellan lauded the deal.