Dubois And His Value To The Capitals

Pierre-Luc Dubois seems on track to return to the Washington Capitals lineup Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres, having missed five straight games with an undisclosed illness.

While not thought of as one of Washington’s top forwards – particularly after the offseason additions – it’s become pretty evident how important the team’s top center is to their overall success.

Dubois’ line was one of the best ones of the first week of the season, as he recorded a point-per-game in the 4 contests he played, and the Capitals had a 3-1-0 mark. They have gone 2-3-0 without him in the lineup, and dropped from 14 goals total in the 4 games with him in the lineup to 13 goals in the 5 games since.

Add in last season, where he appeared in only 29 games due to injury, missing from October until just before the Olympic break, and the drop is noticeable. With him in the lineup last season, the Capitals went 16-11-2; without him in the lineup, Washington at a slightly lower pace at 27-19-7 – in a season where they missed the playoffs by just 4 points.

Without him, the Capitals have struggled to generate pressure consistently, and even with the deeper lineup employed this season, Dubois’ absence has been noticeable.

Two years ago, Dubois played in all 82 games as the Capitals finished atop the Eastern Conference standings, netting 20 goals and adding 46 assists for 66 points.

Overall, with Dubois since arriving from the Kings in a trade for Darcy Kuemper in the summer of 2024, Washington is 70-34-11, and 29-22-7 in the 58 games he has missed the last two seasons – a sizeable drop-off in production. In a trade that was more a necessary move of salary from Los Angeles to absorb Kuemper’s contract, the move has proven much more of a hockey trade for Washington than originally envisioned.

Dubois is still in the fourth year of his 8-year, $68 million contract signed with the Winnipeg Jets back in 2023. After a subsequent trade to California and the District, his $8.5 million cap hit is slowly becoming less of an albatross than when he was first acquired in 2024 and is now showing to be more of a bargain with the team’s success and point production. Dubois as of the moment, will become the fourth-highest-paid Capital next year, and much more in line with the rising salary cap ceiling.

This season as well, he is averaging over 17 minutes of ice time a game, and helped generate pressure when playing with Alex Tuch and Tom Wilson. While Tuch has had 4 points since Dubois has been out of the lineup after getting 3 in 4 games with him, Wilson has been pointless in the 5 games since recording 5 in the first 4 with Dubois.

So while Pierre-Luc Dubois has been more of an afterthought after his arrival in Washington three seasons ago, it’s becoming quite evident that the Capitals offense is a much different team without him in the lineup, and he will be welcomed back should he return this weekend against the Sabres.

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