Brian Dumoulin and his camp made it known to the Kraken last season that he'd like a trade in the offseason, potentially to an Eastern Conference team. He wasn't quite expecting to find himself flipped to another Pacific Division team, but has been enjoying his time with the Ducks.
"Anaheim jumped on it," Dumoulin told me after the Ducks' practice in Anaheim, Calif. on Wedneday. "And I mean, it's been good. It's been obviously a different stage of the organization than where I was at with Pittsburgh versus where I was here. Same thing with Seattle, but we're trying to build toward something."
Thursday's game between the Penguins and Ducks will be Dumoulin's fourth time playing against his former team since he wasn't re-signed two offseasons ago. He played the Penguins twice with the Kraken -- winning the meeting in Seattle, and losing the game in Pittsburgh -- and dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Penguins in Pittsburgh back on Oct. 31 of this season. Still, getting to play against his former team doesn't exactly get old.
"It's always fun playing against old teammates," Dumoulin said. "I just played against (Jake Guentzel) with Tampa a couple times. Playing a lot of the guys here, I know their games, they know mine. And it's fun. It's just competitive. Even though I'm friends with all of them, I want to beat them, and I want to beat them in every battle."
Dumoulin said he's looking forward to the "challenge" of some of his longtime teammates.
"I mean, (Sidney Crosby)'s compete level, (Evgeni Malkin)'s skill, obviously (Bryan Rust), those are all guys I played with for a long time," Dumoulin said. "And (Kris Letang), it's just fun battling against those guys. I know the compete level. I know they don't give up on pucks, so it's always fun going against those guys."
Dumoulin won't have a chance to catch up over dinner with his former teammates as is often the case on trips like these -- it's his wife Kayla's birthday. But he's looking forward to catching up with some familiar faces around the rink.
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
1:14 am - 01.23.2025Anaheim, Calif.Dumoulin: 'Always fun' playing Penguins
Brian Dumoulin and his camp made it known to the Kraken last season that he'd like a trade in the offseason, potentially to an Eastern Conference team. He wasn't quite expecting to find himself flipped to another Pacific Division team, but has been enjoying his time with the Ducks.
"Anaheim jumped on it," Dumoulin told me after the Ducks' practice in Anaheim, Calif. on Wedneday. "And I mean, it's been good. It's been obviously a different stage of the organization than where I was at with Pittsburgh versus where I was here. Same thing with Seattle, but we're trying to build toward something."
Thursday's game between the Penguins and Ducks will be Dumoulin's fourth time playing against his former team since he wasn't re-signed two offseasons ago. He played the Penguins twice with the Kraken -- winning the meeting in Seattle, and losing the game in Pittsburgh -- and dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to the Penguins in Pittsburgh back on Oct. 31 of this season. Still, getting to play against his former team doesn't exactly get old.
"It's always fun playing against old teammates," Dumoulin said. "I just played against (Jake Guentzel) with Tampa a couple times. Playing a lot of the guys here, I know their games, they know mine. And it's fun. It's just competitive. Even though I'm friends with all of them, I want to beat them, and I want to beat them in every battle."
Dumoulin said he's looking forward to the "challenge" of some of his longtime teammates.
"I mean, (Sidney Crosby)'s compete level, (Evgeni Malkin)'s skill, obviously (Bryan Rust), those are all guys I played with for a long time," Dumoulin said. "And (Kris Letang), it's just fun battling against those guys. I know the compete level. I know they don't give up on pucks, so it's always fun going against those guys."
Dumoulin won't have a chance to catch up over dinner with his former teammates as is often the case on trips like these -- it's his wife Kayla's birthday. But he's looking forward to catching up with some familiar faces around the rink.
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