The Winnipeg Jets have finalized a deal that will send Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings in a complex trade that includes a contract extension. His extension is an eight-year, $68 million deal.
In return the Jets will receive forwards Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a 2024 second-round pick.
Dubois, 24, is coming off a season in which he recorded a career-high 63 points in 73 games.
The third-overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2016, Dubois was the centrepiece of the return to the Jets in the Patrik Laine trade in January of 2021.
Dubois’ future with the Jets had been open to speculation after he signed a one-year, $6-million contract on July 25, 2022, as a restricted free agent.
The Jets’ return is headlined by a pair of former first-round selections in Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Kupari.
Vilardi, drafted 11th overall in 2017, battled injuries for much of his early career, playing a combined 89 games over his first three NHL seasons.
However, Last year the Kingston, Ont. native broke out in a big way, scoring 23 goals and recording 41 points, both career highs.
Kupari serves as another young player with upside for the Jets, drafted 20th overall by the Kings in 2018. The Finnish forward played 66 games for Los Angeles last season, but has largely split time between the NHL and AHL since making his way over from the Finish Liiga in 2019.
The final roster player acquired by the Winnipeg Jets in Alex Iafallo is the eldest of the trio, but subsequently the most established NHL piece. The savvy two-way forward joined the Kings as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2017-18 season, and has recorded 30 or more points in each of his last five seasons.
