Matt Dumba To Miss Time With Lower-Body Injury
The Minnesota Wild got Matt Dumba back in the lineup on Saturday, his first game in the month of February. He played more than 22 minutes, added his usual three hits, and blocked two shots. Unfortunately, Dumba isn’t going to be doing any of that in tonight’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. He has already been ruled out with a lower-body injury, with Dakota Mermis recalled to take his spot.
Michael Russo of The Athletic is hearing that Dumba will miss a few weeks, and with Calen Addison also dealing with an injury at the moment the team doesn’t have the ready-made replacement they usually do. Mermis, 28, has played just 25 games in his NHL career, including just two this season for the Wild.
That’s a tough blow for the Wild, who have dealt with their fair share this season. Only Kevin Fiala and Ryan Hartman have played in every game this season, with almost every other key name missing more than a handful. At times, Minnesota has been dealing with as many as eight regulars out of the lineup but continues to be one of the best teams in the Western Conference. They’ve won eight of their last ten and are 29-11-3 on the season, which unfortunately is still only good enough for second place in the Central Division–11 points behind the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche.
While Dumba is not the most important defender on the team, he’s still a rock-solid top-four option that logs nearly 24 minutes a night. In 40 games this season he’s already recorded 20 points and he is without a doubt the most physical defenseman on the team. There have been trade rumors following the 27-year-old seemingly for his whole career, and those likely won’t stop in the next year if an extension isn’t worked out. Dumba is signed through 2022-23 at a $6MM cap hit but will be an unrestricted free agent afterward; with the Wild’s incoming cap issues, an extension will be difficult to fit in.
15 Players Clear Waivers
Saturday: Aside from Montembeault who was claimed by Montreal, the other 15 players cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).
Friday: While there weren’t quite as many players placed on waivers today compared to Thursday, it’s still a long list. Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter links) that the following players have been put on the waiver wire:
Ben Gleason (DAL)
Joel L’Esperance (DAL)
Zac Dalpe (FLA)
Noah Juulsen (FLA)
Sam Montembeault (FLA)
Kevin Czuczman (MIN)
Joe Hicketts (MIN)
Dakota Mermis (MIN)
Mason Shaw (MIN)
Taylor Fedun (PIT)
Jayden Halbgewachs (SJ)
Joel Kellman (SJ)
Jaycob Megna (SJ)
Nicholas Merkley (SJ)
Teemu Kivihalme (TOR)
James Mirtle of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that Hurricanes goaltender Alex Lyon is also on waivers today.
Two of Florida’s players stand out among the group. Juulsen was claimed off waivers by the Panthers from Montreal late in training camp last season but the 26th pick in 2015 was still only limited to four NHL games last season in part due to injury. As for Montembeault, the 24-year-old didn’t see any NHL action last season but has 25 career appearances under his belt and with the way goalies moved around on waivers last season, a claim can’t be ruled out.
Among the others, Merkley had 10 points in 27 games with New Jersey last season before being traded to San Jose over the offseason while Halbgewachs was a top scorer in the WHL several years ago and has had some success so far in the minors. Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Saturday to place a claim.
Meanwhile, Johnston adds (Twitter link) that all 21 players that were on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed.
Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Dakota Mermis
The Minnesota Wild have signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Dakota Mermis to a new two-year, two-way contract, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. The deal will carry an NHL average annual value of $750K, while giving Mermis a nice minor league guarantee. He’ll earn an AHL salary of $300K in 2021-22 and $325K in 2022-23, but has guarantees of $350K and $375K in the two seasons.
Mermis, 27, played just three games with the Wild this season, spending most of the year on the taxi squad instead. After clearing waivers just as the season started, he was quickly sent to the taxi squad and ended up spending just five days on the NHL roster between January 12 and May 13. Still, a well-liked depth defenseman that can come in and out of the lineup whenever necessary is something that every team in the league needs, and that’s the role he can continue to serve in Minnesota.
Undrafted, Mermis has played in 23 NHL games over the last four seasons and could end up spending more time in Iowa than Minnesota over the next couple of years. In fact, he could be a big part of the leadership group for the AHL franchise, given his history as captain of the Tucson Roadrunners and alternate captain of the Binghamton Devils.