Los Angeles Kings general manager Rob Blake categorically closed the door on the suggestion of a contract buyout for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois during his end-of-season press briefing on Monday.
Blake, accompanied by team president Luc Robitaille, took stock of another disappointing end to the season for the Kings after their elimination in the first round against the Edmonton Oilers for a third consecutive spring.
Unsurprisingly, Blake answered questions about Pierre-Luc Dubois’ performance last season, having acquired him at a high price before offering him an eight-year contract for $68 million over the course of from last summer.
“We have to make it better. His performances have been consistent throughout his career so far and things have changed this year. It’s up to us – the staff, coaches and management – to help him become more productive.” Blake argued.
Like the players, Blake pointed to the play on special teams to explain his team’s failures in the first round against the Oilers.
“We have several players who need to play better. If we look at the playoffs, there is only Adrian Kempe who scored more than one goal,” continued the CEO.
Blake has not confirmed the return of Jim Hiller to the helm of the team for the next season. Hiller took over from Todd McLellan after his dismissal on February 2 and a decision in his case should be made “in the coming weeks.”
“Jimmy’s mandate when he took over the team was to get us to the playoffs,” Blake said. “There were changes, but they weren’t dramatic or drastic enough. We’re confident with the message it sends, but it’s a process. There are things he wants to put in place in this team.”
Blake said he wanted to take the time to meet with Hiller a few times to understand his vision for the future before making a final decision on the matter.
“We’ve given up the third fewest goals against, so it’s a good pattern, I don’t want to stray too far from it,” Blake said. Offensively, we have improved, but we remain average in the league. »
Looking ahead to next season, Blake is confident that prospects Brandt Clarke, Akil Thomas and Alex Turcotte – all of whom made their NHL debuts this season – will take on bigger roles on the team next year.
“These young people are progressing well. We’re confident they can come here and contribute to our team. »
