General manager Ken Holland and the Los Angeles Kings signed the two-time Stanley Cup Champion and former Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils 33-year-old defenseman Brian Dumoulin to a three-year contract earlier this offseason in free agency. Dumoulin, a big 6-foot-4 and 215-pound blue-liner from Maine, led the Ducks' defense in Corsi for percentage and blocked shots before he was traded last year to the Devils around the deadline.
The Kings paid a lot to sign both veterans Ceci and Dumoulin on the blue line for this upcoming season. Not only did Holland and the Kings sign Ceci for over $4 million in average annual value through the end of the 2028-29 season, but they also added Dumoulin for $4 million in AAV for four years.
Both Ceci and Dumoulin will be at least 35 years old at the end of their Kings' current contracts.
Brian Dumoulin 2024-25 player season recap
2024-25 season stats: 80 games played, 3 goals, 19 assists, 22 points, -1
2024-25 advanced stats: 4.3 shooting %, 8.6 5-on-5 shooting %, 0.8 points/60, 3.8 point shares
2024-25 possession metrics: 46.4 CF%, 43.6 SCF%, 100.5 PDO, 42.1 HDCF%
The Ducks traded Dumoulin this past season at the trade deadline to the Devils, where the veteran defenseman gained even more valuable postseason experience playing in New Jersey last spring. Dumoulin won back-to-back Stanley Cup rings with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the mid-2010s. He's played over 80 career postseason games, registering 25 career playoff points with the Pens and Devils (since 2015).
After joining the Devils down the stretch this past regular season, Dumoulin proved to be much more effective with his production from the blue line in New Jersey. He found his groove playing with a better playoff team in New Jersey in the second half of last season in the 2024-25 campaign.
Dumoulin registered a 54.6 Corsi for percentage and a 53.5 scoring chances percentage in the 19 regular season games he played with the Devils.
Brian Dumoulin 2025-26 Los Angeles Kings season preview
Dumoulin and Ceci are expected to be the new third defensive line pairing for this upcoming season for head coach Jim Hiller and LA. This pairing of Dumoulin and Ceci will definitely give the Kings' blue line a lot of proven experience and physicality to bolster this defensive group later in the regular season and for the postseason.
If Dumoulin can help the Kings in the postseason, given his long playoff experience with the Pens and Devils over the past decade in the NHL, then his contract with LA should age pretty well.