Enough is enough: Todd McLellan sharply criticizes P-L Dubois

Everyone knows the problem with Pierre-Luc Dubois, because it’s no longer a secret.

We’re talking about a Christie who’s a good hockey player… But we’re talking about a Christie who’s a good hockey player when it comes to giving it his all .

If Dubois decides he wants to dominate a game, he can do it. When he uses his body and is motivated, he has what it takes to be very successful in a league like the NHL.

But at some point… Enough is enough. That’s exactly what Todd McLellan thinks right now about Pierre-Luc Dubois’ performance.

The Kings head coach, clearly fed up with seeing his star player behaving like a linguine on the ice, openly criticized the Quebecer when speaking to the media yesterday afternoon.

And he didn’t mince words:

At the end of the day, whether Pierre-Luc gets four minutes or 24 minutes (of playing time), he has to make a difference. With or without the puck, it’s been a long time coming. It’s about time. – Todd McLellan

Seems pretty clear to me.

Things are going badly for the Kings overall.

The club has lost eight of its last ten games, after having been excellent at the start of the season… And even though, at the time of writing, the Kings occupy the first Wild Card spot in the West, two points ahead of the Predators, we’re starting to have a lot of fears about the upcoming playoffs.

All of which is to say that this would be the perfect time for Dubois to wake up. For him to become the dominant player the Kings thought they’d get, when they traded Gabriel Vilardi and Alex Iafallo for him.

At $8.5 million, at least, Dubois should be more important on the ice. He needs to find a way to make himself useful on the ice to help his team…

And that’s not going to happen by giving it his all every fifth game.

In a gust

– Bromance.

Arber Xhekaj and Logan Mailloux: brotherly love.

The excitement in Arber’s voice, when he talks about his former partner on the blue line with the Rocket, speaks volumes. pic.twitter.com/Tl33QdbVSC

– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) January 23, 2024

– Carter Hart leaves the Flyers.

– Love it!

– Wow.

Once again tonight, Martin St-Louis will have to work with an unbalanced lineup…
3 goalies
7 defensemen
9 wingers
3 centers
At some point, we’re going to have to make some moves… it’s pretty ridiculous.

– Jeremy Filosa (@JeremyFilosa) January 23, 2024