Matt Dumba Undergoes Surgery, Out At Least Three Months
Last week, it was reported that Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba was set to undergo surgery and was going to miss a significant amount of time. The team announced that he has undergone a successful procedure to repair a ruptured right pectoralis muscle and will miss a minimum of three months. The injury occurred last Saturday in a first period fight with Matthew Tkachuk of the Flames.
The 24-year-old has been one of the top offensive threats among NHL defensemen, scoring a dozen goals while adding ten assists in 32 games so far this season. The rest of Minnesota’s back end has combined for just 13 tallies on the year so this is a significant blow to their attack. He also ranks second on the team in ice time per night at over 23 minutes which will be difficult to fill from within. Greg Pateryn will be counted on to log some extra minutes on the right side but he has been better served on the third pairing in recent years.
The Wild find themselves in a bit of a freefall having lost four straight games and nine of their last dozen. Despite that, they are still just two points out of the final playoff spot in the West but they may need to turn to the trade market to find Dumba’s replacement. With nearly $26MM already tied up in their back end for next season, they may prefer to add a rental player but there don’t project to be many impact rentals available between now and the trade deadline.
Right now, Minnesota has the ability to add a player making roughly $3.4MM in a full-season salary, per CapFriendly. They can place Dumba on LTIR to give them some more space and allow them to go over the Upper Limit in the short term but as Michael Russo of The Athletic notes (subscription required), the team is hopeful that the blueliner will be able to return before the end of the season. With that in mind, GM Paul Fenton will have to factor in the fact he’ll have to get the team back in salary cap compliance later in the season into his thought process before deciding who to try to add in the weeks to come which will likely lower the Wild to lower-priced players.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Matt Dumba To Undergo Surgery, Out “Significant” Amount Of Time
Just moments after we published a note about Matt Dumba‘s upper-body injury, news broke out of Minnesota that the Wild defenseman will have surgery next week. Dumba will be out a “significant” amount of time, though GM Paul Fenton wouldn’t give an exact timeline or reveal what the injury is. Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) yesterday suggested that if surgery was required, Dumba could be months and it would “potentially put his season in jeopardy.” Fenton didn’t want to get ahead of himself when talking about the injury:
He will be out for a significant time. We don’t know [how long] until they get in there. I’ve talked to three different doctors, and yes they’re giving me a general timeline for it but I don’t want to say anything that comes back and haunts us. Let’s just make sure first, see how the surgery goes then we’ll make a statement from there.
Dumba, 24, has developed into one of the premiere right-handed offensive defensemen in the league. Armed with a heavy, accurate shot, he has added more playmaking ability to his repitoire and registered 22 points through 32 games. He also brings a level of physicality rarely seen in offensive defensemen, something that perhaps may have played a part in the injury. Dumba himself isn’t sure when it occurred exactly, but he didn’t return to the game after fighting Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk on Saturday night.
This is extremely tough news for the Wild, who are struggling to stay in the Central Division race and have lost their last three games. The team now sits at 17-15-2 on the year and holds just a +5 goal differential. That’s a long way from the dominant team they looked like in the first part of the year, now putting them in a position to perhaps miss the playoffs entirely. That would surely spark a change to the core group, something that Fenton has hinted at already in the past.
Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter have been rumored available at various times, but losing Dumba could really push the Wild to make a move in-season to address the defense. The team wouldn’t confirm such a desire, but any team that loses 23+ minutes on the right side normally has to do something to fill it if they want to continue competing for a playoff spot. We’ll have to keep a close eye on the Wild after the holiday transaction freeze lifts, and see if they move to get better this year or begin a retool for 2019-20.
Injury Notes: Dumba, Hyman, DeMelo
It’s not good news leaking out of Minnesota, as Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required) reported last night that Mathew Dumba could be out “anywhere from weeks to months” with a “significant” injury. Russo even goes so far as to suggest that Dumba’s season could be at risk if he needs surgery, a determination that has not been made yet (Update: Dumba will indeed have surgery to correct the upper-body injury and will be out long-term)
Dumba, 24, has been on fire through the first two months of the season, recording 12 goals and 22 points through 32 games. That outstanding start comes on the heels of a career-high 50-point campaign in 2017-18, one that put Dumba on the map as an all-around offensive force from the blue line. Armed with a lethal point shot from the day he entered the league, the seventh-overall pick from 2012 has improved his breakouts and creativity through the neutral zone. Losing him would leave a big hole on the right side for the Wild, who are fighting to stay relevant in the Central Division playoff race.
- Missed in the Toronto Maple Leafs annihilation of the Florida Panthers last night was the loss of Zach Hyman, ruled out before the game due to an ankle injury suffered earlier this week. The team quietly revealed that Hyman will be out for at least three weeks, leaving the Maple Leafs searching for another forward to fill his spot next to John Tavares and Mitch Marner. Andreas Johnsson was that lucky forward last night, but it’s not clear if the role will be his for the entire three weeks.
- It won’t be just Matt Duchene that returns for the Ottawa Senators tonight, as Dylan DeMelo has also been activated off injured reserve and will be in the lineup when the team takes on the New Jersey Devils. DeMelo hasn’t played since December 8th, and was just starting to really come into his own for the Senators. After averaging just over 18 minutes a night through his first 20 games for the team, DeMelo had recently seen that number jump to almost 21 and a half per game while holding down added responsibilities. The 25-year old was part of the package received for Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks, and could potentially be a trade deadline target given his extremely inexpensive contract. DeMelo carries just a $900K cap hit through next season.
Snapshots: Three Stars, Rinne, Dumba
The NHL released their Three Stars of the Week earlier today, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Alex Ovechkin received the top honors. Ovechkin recorded back-to-back hat tricks last week and seven goals total in his three games, giving him 29 on the season. That puts him on a pace for a career-high, something unthinkable for the 33-year old winger. Ovechkin now has 636 career tallies, and should challenge some of the all-time leaders in the category before he’s finished.
While Ovechkin is racking up his usual accolades, two young centers are trying to carve out their own legacies in the NHL. Mark Scheifele and Jack Eichel were second and third stars respectively, after outstanding weeks. Scheifele especially was a dominant offensive presence, recording 11 points in just four games for the Winnipeg Jets including two overtime winners.
- Pekka Rinne was expecting retirement after the 2018-19 season. That’s what the goaltender told Alex Prewitt in his latest profile for Sports Illustrated. The Nashville Predators goaltender believed that he would sail off into the sunset after his current seven-year $49MM deal expired at the end of this year, but that all changed when he inked a new two-year extension in November. Rinne is still playing at an incredible level, and going into tonight led the league with a .929 save percentage and 1.96 goals against average. That puts him in prime position to challenge for the Vezina Trophy once again, an award he took home last season after previously finishing as a finalist three times.
- Mathew Dumba is off to an exceptional start for the Minnesota Wild, with 12 goals and 22 points in just 32 games. The right-handed defenseman also doesn’t shy away from the physical side of the game, as seen this weekend when he took on Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames in a round of fisticuffs. Unfortunately, Dumba will now be out for at least a week with an upper-body injury. Head coach Bruce Boudreau wouldn’t give much more information on the subject, but did note that it’s not necessarily the worst timing for the team given the holiday break that they’ll enjoy next week.
Minor Transactions: 12/16/18
Alex Ovechkin scored again for the Washington Capitals last night, his seventh goal in his last three games and likely a spot on the Three Stars list this week. The superstar forward now has 29 goals in 32 games this season and is setting new career highs of one sort or another nearly every night. Now 33, Ovechkin sits 15th all-time in NHL goals and could very well pass Dave Andreychuk in the next few games. While we wait to see his next trick, stick right here to follow all the minor moves around the league.
- The New York Rangers recalled Boo Nieves last night in preparation of their afternoon tilt with the Vegas Golden Knights today. Nieves has seven points in 12 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack, but has yet to make his NHL debut this season. The 24-year old has just 29 games under his belt at this level and is still looking for a real opportunity to show what made him a second-round pick in 2012.
- After the team’s 4-3 overtime loss to Vegas Sunday, the Rangers made more moves as they announced they have recalled goaltender Alexandar Georgiev from the Hartford Wolf Pack, while assigning Matt Beleskey and Dustin Tokarski to the AHL team. Georgiev has split time between the Rangers and Hartford, but the 22-year-old has struggled in both places so far this year. Beleskey has appeared in four games this month and has a goal, while Tokarski has yet to make an appearance for the Rangers this season.
- The Ottawa Senators announced they have assigned defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer and Stefan Elliott to the Belleville Senators of the AHL. That likely suggests that Ottawa is close to getting back Mark Borowiecki and/or Dylan DeMelo back from injury. Burgdoerfer appeared in three games on this callup, while Elliott appeared in two games and had an assist.
- After the team’s 3-0 victory over Arizona today, the Carolina Hurricanes have assigned three players to the AHL as the team announced that goaltender Scott Darling and forwards Clark Bishop and Janne Kuokkanen have been returned to the Charlotte Checkers. With Carolina not playing again until Thursday, the team may just be giving playing time to all three, although the team might also have the hope that Micheal Ferland, Jordan Staal and Curtis McElhinney might all be healthy enough to play then.
- The Minnesota Wild have returned winger Luke Kunin to Iowa of the AHL, per the AHL’s Transactions Page. He played in three games with Minnesota after being recalled earlier in the week, averaging just shy of 13 minutes per night of playing time. However, with both Mikko Koivu and Jason Zucker expected to return on Tuesday, there’s no longer a spot in the lineup for Kunin. He’ll return to Iowa where he sits fifth in scoring with 15 points in 21 games.
Snapshots: Sestito, Thomas, Letang, Koivu
It looks like enforcer Tom Sestito will be getting another chance to work his way back to the NHL as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Toronto Marlies have signed the 6-foot-5, 228-pound forward to a professional tryout. A veteran of 154 NHL games, the 31-year-old had been playing in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the previous two years, but he wasn’t able to get a contract this year.
Friedman says that his source said he was thrilled that Sestito was getting one last shot to work his way back and referred to him as a great teammate. Sestito’s best season came in the 2013-14 season with the Vancouver Canucks when he played 77 games and scored five goals and nine points and accumulated 213 penalty minutes. He was probably best known for hits that netted him a pair of four-game suspensions, including one against New York Rangers’ Andre Deveaux from behind in 2011 and another one in 2017 when he boarded Winnipeg’s Toby Enstrom. His last NHL team was the Pittsburgh Penguins where he played 17 games in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons combined.
- St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said that forward Robert Thomas will not be loaned to Team Canada for the World Junior Championships, according to Fox Sports’ Andy Strickland. The 19-year-old has just two goals and seven points so far in his rookie campaign in St. Louis while averaging just over 12 minutes of ice time per game, so many have speculated the Blues could loan him out temporarily to get him extra playing time at the World Juniors. However, Thomas has seen a small spike in his playing time since head coach Mike Yeo was fired and replaced by Craig Berube as the team hopes that the 2017 first-rounder continues his development while learning on the bottom lines.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins got some good news on the injury that defenseman Kris Letang suffered Friday in the third period against the Boston Bruins when the blueliner collided with Boston’s Joakim Nordstrom and had his knee buckle. Fans began to get concerned when he wasn’t able to stand on his own. However, while he did miss tonight’s game, the Penguins announced that he’s day-to-day, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It could’ve been a lot worse,” coach Mike Sullivan said. The 31-year-old has been having a solid season this year with seven goals and 25 points in 30 games this season.
- NHL.com’s Kevin Falness reports that Minnesota Wild head coach Bruce Boudreau said that he expects center Mikko Koivu to return to the Wild’s lineup on Tuesday when they face San Jose. The 35-year-old has missed four games with a left leg injury, but a return could be a big addition as Koivu has put up solid numbers this year as he has four goals and 21 points in 27 games.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild
As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Minnesota Wild. Click here for the other articles in this series.
What are the Wild most thankful for?
A resurgent season from winger Zach Parise. Injuries limited him to just 42 games last season and in each of the years before that, he missed at least a dozen contests in each of them. The injuries had been taking their toll and accordingly, his point-per-game average had dropped in each of the last three seasons. For someone with seven years left on his contract heading into this one (with an AAV of just over $7.5MM), this was cause for concern.
Fortunately for Minnesota, the 34-year-old is off to his best start in years. He leads the team in goals (14) and sits second in points (27); his point-per-game mark (0.93) is his best since the 2009-10 season in New Jersey. It’s far too early to project this as a sign of things to come over the remaining life of his contract but for now, the team is certainly thankful that their top-paid forward is actually producing like one which is something that simply hasn’t happened in recent years.
Who are the Wild most thankful for?
Some eyebrows were raised this summer when Minnesota gave defenseman Mathew Dumba a five-year, $30MM contract last summer but it’s already looking to be quite the bargain. The 24-year-old leads all NHL blueliners in goals (12) and is just two off of his career high from last season. He also is logging nearly 24 minutes a night (a career high) and has really emerged as a legitimate top pairing defender for the price of a second pairing player. It wasn’t that long ago that there were questions as to whether or not he’d be a part of their future. Now, Dumba is a key fixture for the long haul at a really nice price point.
What would the Wild be even more thankful for?
Production from core forwards Nino Niederreiter and Charlie Coyle. Niederreiter looked like he was emerging as a high-end forward two years ago when he picked up 57 points, earning himself a five-year contract in the process. However, his offense dipped considerably last year and it’s down a tick again this season as he has scored just five times. Meanwhile, Coyle’s name has come up in trade speculation once again and for good reason. He has the skillset to be an impact player but he simply isn’t producing as he’s sitting on five goals again. These two are expected to be consistent secondary scorers for the Wild and the only thing they’ve been consistent at so far this season is being consistently inconsistent.
What should be on the Wild’s Holiday Wish List?
Nate Prosser’s hold on a roster spot has always been tenuous and it’s clear the team doesn’t have a lot of faith in him (he has been healthy all year but has played just twice) so adding some defensive depth that Bruce Boudreau would be comfortable using when injuries arise would be useful. With their secondary scorers not producing enough, adding a top-six winger would also go a long way towards helping them. That might be enough to help spark Niederreiter and Coyle (if they’re not part of the return going the other way).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Philadelphia Flyers Hire Brent Flahr
New Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher has already begun to surround himself with familiar faces, hiring Rick Wilson to serve as an assistant coach while the team evaluates their future. Now he’ll have another trusted advisor in the front office with him, as the team has hired Brent Flahr as vice president and assistant GM. Flahr served in the same role for Fletcher in Minnesota, and will be allowed out of the final year of his current contract with the Wild. Philadelphia had a vacancy in the front office after firing AGM Chris Pryor recently.
Just yesterday it was reported that the Flyers are looking to make some trades, and with Flahr on board Fletcher can really get to work. Hiring an assistant GM to start handling the team’s draft prep was obviously a need, and Flahr handled those duties in Minnesota for the last several seasons. If the Flyers are headed into a short rebuilding phase—something that is by no means clear at this point—they’ll need him to continue to find future talents to help them down the road. Fletcher explained as much in his statement released on the hiring:
Brent brings over 20 years of experience in the National Hockey League and an extraordinary amount of knowledge to our hockey club. I’ve known Brent for many years and his track record speaks for itself as a scout, assistant general manager and even general manager of an AHL team. His expertise of building and growing a strong foundation will be extremely valuable at all levels as we look to take the next step in our path toward winning a championship.
The Flyers are arguably the most interesting team in the league to watch as the holiday trade freeze approaches, given their appetite for change and solid talent levels in the NHL and minor leagues. Already one of the most well-stocked prospect cupboards around, the team could very well sell off their veteran assets in order to give younger players even more opportunity. Alternatively, they could pull from their future assets to help the 2018-19 team compete for the playoffs, something that is still within reach given the struggles of the Metropolitan division.
Chuck Fletcher Hoping To Make Trades Early And Often With Flyers
The overwhelming opinion on the firing of former Phialdelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall was that he was too patient with the roster and too unwilling to make big moves. His replacement, Chuck Fletcher, has a history of being a deal-maker from his time with the Minnesota Wild and is clearly focused on quick and sweeping change as he takes over in Philly. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports in the latest “Insider Trading” segment that Fletcher has already spoken with at least half of the teams in the NHL about a trade. LeBrun adds that Fletcher has not one, not two, but three different areas of the depth chart that he would like to add to and is hoping to make at least one move prior to the holiday roster freeze beginning next week.
The obvious weakness of the Flyers this season, and for some time, is in net. Injuries and poor play from the team’s goaltenders has made it difficult to consistently win games and an established, long-term starter is needed until promising young prospect Carter Hart is ready to take over down the road. Of course, this was understood as the priority for whoever Philadelphia hired as GM and comes as no surprise as one of Fletcher’s three goals. However, LeBrun states that Fletcher would ideally like to add a veteran defenseman to an otherwise very young unit, as well as a top-nine forward. Even if he has had discussions with 15+ teams, adding three starting-caliber players, especially this early in the season, is a tall order. Yet, Fletcher seems up to the task and hopes to have checked off one of those boxes prior to next Wednesday, December 19th, when the holiday freeze begins.
These hypothetical additions are obviously being made in hopes of reaching the postseason this year. It thus makes sense that Fletcher would like to initiate trade talks and get these deals done as soon as possible, as the Flyers currently sit second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference overall more than a third of the way through the regular season. However, should Philadelphia still be outside the playoff picture come the Trade Deadline, Fletcher is also unlikely to hesitate when it comes to offloading his impending free agents. Wayne Simmonds would be his most valuable trade chip, while Michael Raffl and Jordan Weal could also draw interest. Should he acquire a starting goaltender in the meantime, Brian Elliott could also become an intriguing trade option. Fletcher could even add a veteran defenseman and/or top-nine forward on expiring contracts only to flip them later on. There are infinite possibilities as to what Fletcher could do to change the team and how those moves will work out, but the one thing that is for sure is that changes are coming in Philadelphia.
Wild Shopping Charlie Coyle In Trade Talks
Wild forward Charlie Coyle has had a rough start to his season with just 13 points through 29 games. As a result, the team is dangling him in trade talks according to Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required). Russo notes that three Atlantic Division teams are believed to have shown some level of interest in Boston, Montreal, and Ottawa.
The Bruins have been looking for forward help for some time and have been linked to Coyle previously; his ability to play both center and the right wing would also be a plus for them. Russo adds that Montreal has shown interest prior to this season although they’re a couple of weeks away from having a bit of a logjam up front when Joel Armia returns. Ottawa’s long list of injuries continued to grow last week with Bobby Ryan and Matt Duchene set to miss a fair bit of time so they could certainly be on the lookout for some help up front as well.
Coyle is only two years removed from a 56 point season but he has struggled since then and his trade value has likely taken a hit since then. However, he carries a reasonable cap hit of $3.2MM through next season (with a $3.75MM salary this year and $4.25MM in 2019-20) so it’s not a surprise to see teams showing some interest in him as he’s an intriguing potential reclamation project. The 26-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2020.
New GM Paul Fenton opted to not make any notable changes when he took over the team from Chuck Fletcher last offseason. Now that he’s had a chance to assess the situation, it appears that Coyle could be the first notable change made in his tenure.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.