Pierre-Luc Dubois Reflects On Long Road Back To Capitals After Surgery: 'I Couldn't Even Sprint... This Will Be A Lot More Fun'

The Capitals center makes his return to the lineup after missing the last 47 games.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — For the first time all year, Pierre-Luc Dubois feels like he can finally skate at full speed.

The Washington Capitals center is finally making his return to the lineup on Thursday against the Nashville Predators after having been through the wringer over the course of the 2025-26 campaign.

“I started the year injured. I played those six games, finished four, and on those (last) four, I couldn’t even sprint,” Dubois admitted. “I was jogging out there.”

Ultimately, after navigating a handful of ailments to start the season, J.G. Pageau fell on top of him on Oct. 31 in a Capitals’ loss to the New York Islanders, leading Dubois to finally undergo adduction surgery.

“He didn’t mean to, but it was one of those things where it’s a perfect storm where I was already injured, and he falls right where I was hurting,” Dubois said.

This was the 27-year-old’s first time dealing with a longer-term injury and rehabilitation. It came at a good time in his personal life, as he and his wife welcomed their first son.

“The first month I was in crutches. My wife was taking care of two babies at home, there wasn’t much movement from me or him,” Dubois quipped. “It wasn’t the easiest for her, but she did a great job. To spend time with him to see the first smiles, first time he wakes up and sees you and he starts laughing, those kind of moments I’ll cherish forever.”

But, as Dubois said, “I’m a hockey player,” and now, he’s looking forward to being back after months of rehabilitation to get to this point.

It can be stressful for any player, but for Dubois, there admittedly weren’t a lot of negatives as he continued to progress and skate. And now, he feels 100 percent for the first time since last season.

“It was frustrating because I couldn't do the things that I can do now. To come back and actually be able to sprint and stop and start, not just stop, explode out of the corner, all those things that I wasn't able to do when I was playing, this will be a lot more fun,” Dubois said.

For his first game back, Dubois will slot in on his usual line with Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson, a familiar combination that the Capitals, who are trying to claw their way back into playoff territory, hope can provide some stability and consistency up front.

That said, though, coach Spencer Carbery isn’t setting expectations for Dubois in his first game back, as his primary goal is to start to get him back in the rhythm of things.

“That’s a lot of games and a long time. Getting his feet back under him, it’s going to take some time, the timing of it, handling the puck, the nerves of it, getting him back is a positive step, but there’s no ill-conceived notions of him coming in and putting a cape on and saving the world. It’s going to be a process.”

As for Dubois, he plans to use Thursday’s game as a stepping stone and go from there, and he will continue to skate over the Olympic break while working on different areas of his game and readjusting to the speed of it.

“I got a pretty good idea of everything to work on, timing, execution, you know obviously my cardio, my hands, all these things,” Dubois said, adding, “I can learn a lot and take that break to really hone it in… hopefully, it’s not a lot of games before I’m back to 100 percent.”