Former Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin is trying to win once again with the Kings

Brian Dumoulin was in a familiar place Saturday.

As the Pittsburgh Penguins skated against the New Jersey Devils some six hours to the east in the Garden State, the left-handed defenseman practiced at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry.

A vital component of the Penguins’ blue line during the team’s run to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017, Dumoulin was in town Saturday as a member of the Los Angeles Kings and worked out on the ice roughly 24 hours before a game against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Sunday.

“I didn’t (go to the wrong dressing room),” Dumoulin quipped. “But I made sure to say hi to everyone.”

A member of the Penguins for parts of 10 seasons (not including three seasons he spent with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League), Dumoulin was one of the most popular members of the organization during his tenure in Pittsburgh, which came to an end in 2023 when he departed as an unrestricted free agent.

Signing with the Seattle Kraken, he bounced around to three teams over the next two seasons — including stops with the Anaheim Ducks and Devils — before joining the Kings as an unrestricted free agent this past offseason.

The Kings thought so highly of the 34-year-old defenseman, they extended a lucrative three-year contract with a salary cap hit of $4 million and a modified no-trade clause to him.

Aside from getting considerable security through that type of deal, Dumoulin was motivated by an obvious factor in joining the Kings.

“I want to win,” Dumoulin said. “At this stage of my career, that’s the biggest thing for me is I want to win.”

“They want to win now. That’s the pressure of this team is we’re not waiting a year or two. Right now is their opportunity to win.”

Dumoulin did some scouting on the Kings and spoke with a few former Penguins teammates who played for both organizations.

“They have a great culture, and it’s a great organization,” Dumoulin said. “They spend a lot of money on their team and on us and facilities and training staff. It’s just a great organization that I want to be a part of. I heard a lot of great things. I still talk with (former forward) Jeff Carter. He was a great resource. (Former defenseman) Rob Scuderi, too. Guys had nothing but great things to say about the Kings organization.”

Never an offensive dynamo, Dumoulin has one assist in 15 games this season while averaging 19 minutes, 41 seconds of ice time.

His two most regular defensive partners have been All-Star Drew Doughty and another former Penguins defenseman, Cody Ceci.

“Me and Cody, we started the season off together, then kind of changed all the (defensive) pairings a little bit there,” Dumoulin said. “I was playing with (Doughty) a little bit there, then I was with (Ceci). The biggest thing (coaches) want is just consistency and just knowing what they want from us every night. Be simple when we need to be. But also, I like to make plays on breakouts, not just chip pucks out.”

Chaz Palla | TribLive

Defenseman Brian Dumoulin spent parts of 10 seasons with the Penguins.

Given all the pucks he has blocked and all the hits he has absorbed from forechecking forwards, it’s fair to wonder where Dumoulin is physically in his mid-30s.

He professes to being hale and hearty, particularly because of the guidance he got from another 30-something who is still excelling.

“Being around (Sidney Crosby), there’s a reason why he’s still so good at this age,” Dumoulin said of the 38-year-old captain of the Penguins. “He doesn’t take time off. At the end of the season, he’s skating two days after.

“A couple of summers ago, Sid was around a lot, so me and him skated a lot together. Over the course of these last four, five years, after seasons, if I’m not injured, I don’t really take time off. I continue to get out there on the ice, continue to work out. Some people, they want a break from it. But for me, it’s something that’s helped me.”

Dumoulin’s time with the Penguins came to an unceremonious end in 2023. The Penguins had missed the postseason for the first time in 17 years, and that led to general manager Ron Hextall being fired.

Kyle Dubas took over as president of hockey operations, and conversations with Dumoulin, as well as his agent, about a new contract were limited.

“We didn’t make the playoffs,” Dumoulin said. “Anytime that happens, you’ve got to look in the mirror and figure out what’s going on. We (Dumoulin and family) were kind of upset with not being back there because we loved it so much, but I think it was honestly the best thing for me and my family at that time.

“Hearing a different voice in the locker room and being in a different role and having to push myself even more and see a new light almost, kind of a fresh scene, it was really, really good for me. I had to push myself and establish myself again and play well. It was good both ways.”

The Penguins acquired Dumoulin as something of a throw-in to a trade in June of 2012 during the NHL Draft.

After forward Jordan Staal requested a trade, he was sent to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Brandon Sutter and the eighth overall selection in that draft, which was used to select defenseman Derrick Pouliot, who never panned out.

The Hurricanes also threw in a defensive prospect they had drafted in the second round (No. 51 overall) in 2009.

Dumoulin wound up being the most consequential part of the trade from the Penguins’ perspective.

“I was very fortunate to get traded to Pittsburgh,” Dumoulin said. “If I was in Carolina, I would have played earlier in my career more. But I don’t know if that would have necessarily been a good thing. I had to wait a little bit longer. Obviously, at that time, we had a lot of defensive prospects and also, (the Penguins) were trying to win every year. I definitely had to wait, but I think it was good for me.

“When I stepped into Pittsburgh, I was ready to play. And where the team was at, we had to win. That was the culture that was set there. That was the pressure that the city and fans and media put on us was to win. And I loved that.”