Report: Kings among teams to join Canadiens in pursuit of Dubois

The Los Angeles Kings are one of multiple teams to join the Montreal Canadiens in the hunt for Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois, sources told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.

Dubois' agent Pat Brisson and the Jets believe there will be a "robust market" for the restricted free agent's services, LeBrun added.

The Canadiens would be the least surprising landing spot for Dubois. His agent said last summer that "Montreal is a place, a city he'd like to play in." Dubois later said those comments were blown out of proportion. However, he was born about an hour outside Montreal in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec, and grew up in Rimouski. The Habs also reached out to the Jets about Dubois as soon as Winnipeg was eliminated from the 2023 playoffs.

The Habs are still rebuilding, but they have the necessary cap space to offer Dubois a mammoth extension. Montreal also has ample prospects and draft picks to dangle in trade talks.

The Kings, however, have not been at the forefront of the Dubois sweepstakes until now. They also have only $7.3 million in cap space, need to sign four RFAs, including Gabe Vilardi, and need a starting goalie. So any Dubois trade to the Kings would likely require money going the other way.

Dubois is only an RFA but he can become a UFA in 2024. He told the Jets earlier in June that he won't sign an extension, so his agent and the club have been working together to find a trade.

The power forward, who turns 25 on Saturday, registered a career-high 63 points in 73 games this past season.

Dubois was drafted third overall by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016 and was traded to the Jets in 2021 in a deal that sent Patrik Laine the other way.