7 more years at $8.5M. Doubt the Kings will want to retain that long. Nobody is trading for him without retention at this point.
Bad contract for bad contract? Even if we flip Gallagher and one of Dvorak/Armia, we would still be reaching due to the time left with Dubois. We know he is better than what he provided for the Kings this season but I'd let them drown with him at this stage.
I'd be interested but only if they we got at least $2M of retention. Kings won't do that.
People have to consider that they used Dubois on the 3rd line to create 3 good lines but Dubois is not one to lead a line. He's clearly better than what he provided this season and it seemed to have got worse for the Kings/Dubois as the season went along. Bad fit for the Kings who already had center depth.
Kings will probably have no choice but to retain on Dubois if they want to move on from him, which i think they do.
They will have a big decision to make this summer.
It will be their last opportunity to buy him out at 1/3 of his salary. After that it will go up to 2/3.
And he has a full NTC that kicks in this summer too.
If they buy him out this summer, it will cost them 28M total in cap space, spread over 14 seasons. Around 20M for the first 7 seasons, and 8M for the following 7 seasons because of bonuses.
If they buy him out next summer, it will cost them 38M over 12 seasons. So trying him out for another season and see if he can turn it around is a big risk for them.
If they retain 3M on him, for example, it costs them 21M over 7 seasons. It's a better option than buying him out.
Of course, they can bring that number down if more than one team are interested in acquiring him.
The Habs tried to get him the last two summers so they seem to like the player. Not sure that's still the case though.
But if the Kings are willing to retain 2.5-3M, it's something to think about.
I don't think trading Gallagher or Anderson for him works for either team.
Habs don't really need the cap space for the next 2-3 years but would rather save 3M for the last 4 years of his deal.
Kings probably want to make room now to get a good goalie while Kopitar and Doughty can still play.