Los Angeles Kings forward Pierre-Luc Dubois knows many fans hate that he has twice asked his former teams to trade him, but he doesn’t mind the criticism.
The Quebecer initially sent a trade request to the Blue Jackets, who drafted him third overall in 2016. On January 23, 2021, he was ultimately traded to the Winnipeg Jets along with a third-round pick in 2022 for Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic.
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He then made another trade request before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 27 for Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and the Montreal Canadiens’ 2024 second-round pick.
“I knew when I asked to leave Columbus I would be criticized,” the 25-year-old center told The Athletic. I knew I would also be criticized if the situation happened in Winnipeg. I had to ask myself: Would I rather not be criticized but not do what I like… or would I rather be criticized but be happy?
Choosing the attacker was quite easy.
“Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but at the end of the day I only have one life. I only have one career,” he added.
Prejudices
Dubois says that even if the speculation was true, he was disappointed that people unfamiliar with the file assumed his conduct during these difficult times was poor.
“Often people think that someone does something because they hate the other person. But it’s not like that at all. […] You can enjoy two things at the same time,” continued the Ste-Agathe-des-Monts native.
Los Angeles will visit Dubois’ former team, the Winnipeg Jets, for its next game on Tuesday night.
“It will be special, I’m sure,” says number 80. “Probably some fans won’t agree with me, but for me it will be special.”
In two games this season, Dubois still hasn’t put his name on the scoresheet and has a margin of -2.
The Kings are still looking for their first win of the season. They lost 5-2 to the Colorado Avalanche and 6-5 in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes, both played at the Crypto.com Arena in California.