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Matt Dumba

Central Notes: Dumba, Honka, Colorado

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The Minnesota Wild have been quite aggressive in re-shaping their roster this season, which includes adding Marcus Johansson, Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstadt and Cam Talbot, while also re-signing a number of key free agents and eliminating significant cap space. However, one move that hasn’t happened yet was the expected trade of defenseman Matt Dumba.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that it might be a while before a trade for the blueliner is found. This is not the best time to find a trade partner with few teams ready to give Minnesota a significant return and a number of previously interested teams have already filled their need on defense. Russo suggests that one team that might still be interested is the Florida Panthers, who still need help on defense and have the prospects to make a deal happen.

Russo adds that he heard that Minnesota tried to pry Florida’s first-round pick from this year’s draft, who the Panthers used to select Anton Lundell, as part of a package for Dumba, which Florida rejected, but mainly because they wanted Lundell. Regardless, the Wild need to stay patient and hope it can find a match with Florida or any other team ready to get into the running.

  • The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro (subscription required) writes that Dallas Stars first-round pick Julius Honka, who didn’t sign as a restricted free-agent last summer and spent the season playing in Finland, is interested in returning to Dallas next season. The 24-year-old Honka’s rights are owned by the Stars until he turns 27, but despite demanding a trade last summer, he was forced to play in the Liiga and wasn’t necessarily a standout player there. Honka has played 87 career NHL games, but never was able to establish himself into the Stars’ defensive lineup. If he does opt to sign what would likely be a mininum-salaried deal, Honka would have to beat out a number of blueliners to get into the lineup, including Mark Pysyk, Taylor Fedun, Thomas Harley, Joel Hanley and Stephen Johns (assuming he returns to the team).
  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater (subscription required) writes that if the NHL is required to set up divisional bubbles next season as it is starting to look more and more likely that getting fans in the stands is looking less and less likely, then Colorado could be a likely candidate to host teams. In fact, Dater writes that he’s heard that the Pepsi Center, the Avalanche’s arena, is a leading candidate to be a host-city if the NHL opts to go that route, although it’s too soon to make a decision.

Trade Rumors: Laine, Dumba, Rust

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While it is Frank Seravalli who produces TSN’s Trade Bait board, colleagues Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun backed up the trade statuses of a pair of players at the top of his board on this evening’s edition of Insider Trading. While he may be only 22 years old with four 50+ point seasons under his belt, don’t dismiss the rumors surrounding Winnipeg Jets forward Patrik Laine as wild speculation, warns Dreger. He states that the Jets are “serious” and absolutely listening on the young scorer. In fact, the Laine noise has not been louder merely because the interest has been limited so far, either due to the asking price or other teams not truly believing that Laine is for sale. LeBrun notes that the Columbus Blue Jackets are one team that is definitely interested in Laine. The team sorely needs high-end talent up front as may have the top-four defenseman and young center that Winnipeg desires. Another team that also kicked the tires on Laine was the Carolina Hurricanes, but LeBrun believes that they balked at the asking price for the Finnish sniper and talks fell off after that. One team that hasn’t checked in on Laine yet? The Montreal Canadiens. While LeBrun acknowledges that the Canadiens could desperately use a player of Laine’s ability, they thus far have been hesitant to enter negotiations.

  • The trade availability of Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba, No. 2 on the trade bait board, has been far more concrete, as teams and the media alike can look ahead to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and see the conundrum coming down the line for the Wild. Yet, Dreger states that Dumba is on the block, but Minnesota is not in a rush to move him. He believes that the Wild will hold on to Dumba, perhaps even through the season, until the asking price is met. Right now, that price is believed to be a legitimate top-six center, which Dreger feels might be asking too much. The other option could be a high first-round pick and a young roster forward, which is a more likely return. The team will hold out for one of those two returns, as there is no urgency to move on from Dumba at a lower price.
  • One name that rival GM’s are asking about who isn’t necessarily on the block is Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust. Rust is coming off of a career year, but it seems like no one on the Penguins roster is safe, leading other teams to ask the question. GM Jim Rutherford tells The Athletic’s Rob Rossi and Josh Yohe that he will listen to any offer, but isn’t keen to trade Rust. However, another sources tells The Athletic that Rutherford would part with Rust for an NHL-ready prospect and another top prospect. That might be a heavy price to pay, but don’t rule out the possibility in an unpredictable off-season.

Snapshots: Boeser, Miller, Caufield, Langlois

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With plenty of trade speculation that has surrounded Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser over the last few months, there are quite a few people who have connected the dots of the Canucks sending their promising 23-year-old forward to Minnesota, Boeser’s hometown, to beef up their defense. With a new contract in the hands of Jonas Brodin, general manager Bill Guerin needs to trade Matt Dumba and a swap of the two players make sense, according to Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.

However, Canucks general manager Jim Benning said recently that he isn’t trying to trade Boeser, who has scored 71 goals in the past three seasons.

“Lots of GMs call us about our players,” Benning said. “I listen and sometimes we have a conversation. That’s my job as a GM. If I’m not listening to other GMs, then I’m not doing my job. But we’re not trying to trade Brock Boeser. I have not had a conversation with Minnesota about him.”

Another reason for the trade speculation is that Vancouver has three key unrestricted free agents it would like to re-sign and don’t have the cap space at the moment to do it. Boeser has a $5.88MM contract for two more years and while not an albatross of a contract, the team could save some cap space if they were willing to move one of their forwards to bring in defensive help. Dumba makes $6MM, so the contracts would even out, but then could allow the team to try to focus on re-signing Tyler Toffoli to replace Boeser in the lineup if the Canucks could make that swap.

  • The Athletic’s Eric Stephens writes (subscription required) that the Anaheim Ducks still are waiting for backup goaltender Ryan Miller to make up his mind on coming back for a 18th season. Miller told Stephens that he has been on the ice approximately seven times now and is just trying to see if his body can adjust to sitting for as long as he has. Regardless, the 40-year-old has yet to make a decision, but the long layoff (he last played on March 10) has definitely made him think twice about returning. “You have things that you’re used to doing and when they stop, it’s shocking to the system,” said Miller. “I tried to install a little bit of normalcy so I can kind of get my sense of direction … I just thought that it was best not making any decisions either way if you’re sitting on the couch.”
  • After a report from SportExpressen Saturday that Edmonton Oilers prospect Raphael Lavoie was cut from Rogle of the SHL after the Oilers loaned him to the top SHL team, a new report this morning suggests that they have set their sights on Lavoie’s replacement. HockeyNews.se reports that Rogle is now in negotiations to recruiting Montreal Canadiens star prospect Cole Caufield to join the team. ESPN’s Chris Peters reports that Caufield has been looking for a place to play with his college season at the University of Wisconsin delayed, although the rumor last week was that he was headed to Switzerland. Rogle has declined comment on the situation. Caufield, the Canadiens top pick in 2019, scored 19 goals in his freshman year at Wisconsin.
  • The Montreal Canadiens announced the passing of three-time Stanley Cup winning defenseman Albert “Junior” Langlois, who died at age 85 on Saturday. He helped the Canadiens win Stanley Cups in 1958, 1959 and 1960, the last three of their historic five-straight Cup titles. He also played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings and the Boston Bruins. The stay-at-home defenseman played 497 games in his NHL career with 21 goals and 112 points. PHR offers our condolences to his family.

Wild Shopping Matt Dumba

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Following a quiet season, Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba’s name was already coming up in trade speculation.  One of him or Jonas Brodin seemed to be candidates to be moved with Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon already locked up long-term.  Brodin’s chances of being dealt dropped considerably today following the announcement of a seven-year, $42MM extension that now puts them in a situation of having four blueliners making at least $6MM for 2021-22.  That’s a lot of defensive spending and it’s not likely a long-term recipe for success.

GM Bill Guerin is certainly aware of this.  Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that Minnesota is receiving plenty of calls on Dumba’s availability but also that the 26-year-old was being actively shopped prior to Brodin’s contract getting done.

Two seasons ago, it looked as if Dumba had turned the corner offensively after putting up 14 goals and 36 assists while playing in every game.  He was on pace to beat those numbers in 2018-19 with 12 goals and 10 helpers in just 32 contests before suffering a ruptured pectoral muscle in a fight which ended his season prematurely.  The good news this season is that Dumba was able to play in all 69 games before the pandemic hit but the bad news is that he managed just six goals and 24 points, numbers that were well below his expectations.

Nevertheless, there should still be a sizable market for the most recent King Clancy Trophy winner.  He is signed through 2022-23 at a $6MM price tag, a rate that is manageable for someone that has logged at least 22:30 per game over each of the last three seasons and his past offensive prowess.  On top of that, the fact that he’s a right-shot player (which is often in high demand and short supply) should help Minnesota receive a strong return for him if he indeed winds up being on the move.

Guerin hasn’t hidden the fact that the Wild are in dire need of an impact player down the middle.  Even with the recent acquisition of Nick Bjugstad, their depth at center is weak.  Veteran Eric Staal is entering the final year of his contract as is checker Joel Eriksson Ek while Victor Rask, a speculative buyout candidate, has two years remaining.  There isn’t much help in free agency so if they plan to make an impact addition at that spot, it will have to come via the trade market.

Dumba seems like an ideal candidate to try to use to fill that spot.  While impact centers are hard to acquire, so too are top-four right-shot defenders with multiple years of control at a reasonable rate so there is bound to be some notable pivots made available to try to secure Dumba’s services.

It’s also worth noting that Dumba is now the only one of Minnesota’s core four on their back end without any sort of active trade protection.  He has a 10-team no-trade clause that is set to kick in for 2021-22 but for now, he can be moved anywhere without his approval.

And, of course, there is also Seattle’s expansion draft to keep in mind.  The most common protection is seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie.  If they followed that scheme, Dumba would unprotected by default as Suter, Spurgeon, and Brodin all have no-move clauses.  While it’s possible to protect more than three blueliners by going to eight skaters and a goalie, that would mean they’d risk losing a better forward to the Kraken.  Moving Dumba now would alleviate that future concern.

During his press call today to discuss the Brodin deal, Guerin indicated that they don’t have to move a defender and that he’s happy with his group as currently constructed.  But even with Dumba coming off of a quieter season by his standards, his trade value should still be quite strong.  With that in mind and today’s Brodin deal, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising to see Dumba on the move in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: King Clancy Trophy, Kucherov, Bishop, Holzapfel

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Now that the NHL has reached the conference championship phase of the playoffs, so too can the NHL awards, which are expected to be handed out day-by-day over the next couple of weeks. First up is expected to be the King Clancy Trophy, awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. The trophy will be awarded this evening before the start of Game 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars. The three finalists for the awards are Minnesota Wild’s Matt Dumba, New York Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist and New Jersey Devils’ P.K. Subban.

Dumba has been committed to racial and social justice and the Hockey is for Everyone initiative and helped form the Hockey Diversity Alliance with seven current and former NHL players. Lundqvist supports several different initiatives, including aid for children’s health, education, underprivileged youth, Hockey Fights Cancer and the Make a Wish Foundation. Subban also supports several groups, including initiatives for underprivileged youth, medical support and promoting racial and social injustice.

  • Despite the bad news that the Tampa Bay Lightning will have to go through the Eastern Conference Finals without Steven Stamkos, the team did get some good news, however, on the injury front. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reports that first-line forward Nikita Kucherov is expected to be available Monday for the Lightning’s first game against the New York Islanders. Kucherov was forced to leave Game 5 against the Boston Bruins with an undisclosed injury, but has had almost a week to recover. The 27-year-old has been quite effective in the playoffs so far with four goals and 16 points in 13 games.
  • The Dallas Stars will be without starting goaltender Ben Bishop once again as The Athletic’s Sean Shapiro reports that Bishop and defenseman Taylor Fedun remain “unfit to play.” Both skated today, but neither appear ready to play. The scribe did add that forwards Andrew Cogliano and Mattias Janmark are both expected to be game-time decisions today. Bishop has appeared in just three games during the playoffs and hasn’t made an appearance since Aug. 31 against Colorado when he allowed four goals in 13 minutes before being replaced. The team will rely on Anton Khudobin once again, who is 8-5 with a .909 save percentage in 14 games during the playoffs.
  • Former AHL forward Riley Holzapfel announced his retirement after spending his four years with the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian League. Holzapfel was a second-round pick of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2006 and five season in the AHL before opting to play overseas in 2013, playing three seasons in the SHL before joining Vienna in 2016. He was never able to break into the NHL, however. The 32-year-old was still productive with Vienna, scoring 18 goals and 46 assists in 48 games.

NHL Announces 2020 King Clancy Finalists

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The NHL has announced the finalists for the 2020 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented “to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Jason Zucker, then of the Minnesota Wild.

This year’s finalists are Matt Dumba of the Wild, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and P.K. Subban of the New Jersey Devils.

The selection committee, led by Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, consider the following criteria:

  • Clear and measurable positive impact on the community
  • Investment of time and resources
  • Commitment to a particular cause or community
  • Commitment to the League’s community initiatives
  • Creativity of programming
  • Use of influence; engagement of others

2020 King Clancy Trophy Nominees Announced

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The NHL has announced the 31 nominees for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, annually presented to “the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.” Last year’s winner was Jason Zucker of the Minnesota Wild.

Each team submits one nominee. This year’s are:

Anaheim: Cam Fowler

Arizona: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Boston: Patrice Bergeron

Buffalo: Jack Eichel

Calgary: Travis Hamonic

Carolina: Jordan Staal

Chicago: Jonathan Toews

Colorado: Gabriel Landeskog

Columbus: Cam Atkinson

Dallas: Tyler Seguin

Detroit: Justin Abdelkader

Edmonton: Leon Draisaitl

Florida: Sergei Bobrovsky

Los Angeles: Trevor Lewis

Minnesota: Matt Dumba

Montreal: Carey Price

Nashville: Pekka Rinne

New Jersey: P.K. Subban

NY Islanders: Matt Martin

NY Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist

Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk

Philadelphia: Kevin Hayes

Pittsburgh: Sidney Crosby

San Jose: Evander Kane

St. Louis: Ryan O’Reilly

Tampa Bay: Alex Killorn

Toronto: Mitch Marner

Vancouver: Alexander Edler

Vegas: Marc-Andre Fleury

Washington: Garnet Hathaway

Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler

Trade Rumors: Hall, Wild, Rangers, Hurricanes

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After spending the first few months of the season obsessing over him, few want to see Taylor Hall’s name back in the rumor mill. Fortunately, that doesn’t appear to be likely. Even though the Arizona Coyotes have failed to improve since acquiring the star forward from the New Jersey Devils in December and are far from a lock for the playoffs this season, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun confirmed on tonight’s segment of “Insider Trading” that the Coyotes have no intention of flipping Hall before the deadline. Although holding on to the high-profile impending free agent is a risk, the team remains intent on re-signing Hall, with the full backing of new owner Alex Meruello. In fact, LeBrun reports that Meruello, GM John Chayka, and Hall’s agent, Darren Ferris, all recently met and are on the same page that Hall will not be dealt this season and that extension talks will begin once the Coyotes’ season has come to an end, whenever that is. LeBrun believes that Arizona’s ability and willingness to offer Hall and eight-year term on his next contract could tip the scales toward the former Hart Trophy winner staying in the desert.

  • TSN colleague Darren Dreger reports that even after trading away long-time forward Jason Zucker to the Pittsburgh Penguins yesterday, new Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin may not be done dealing. Dreger states that the team is still listening to offers for young defenseman Matt Dumba, who has popped up in rumors over the last few weeks, as well as fellow rearguard Jonas Brodin. With that said, a trade of either skilled defender seems more likely to occur in the off-season, as Dreger believes the asking price for both would be a top-line center or a second-line center plus a pick or prospect. No contender will be in position to make a deal of that magnitude ahead of the trade deadline, but suitors could circle back this summer, perhaps even before free agency opens and the Wild have to make a decision on captain Mikko Koivu.
  • Another deal that could take place this summer is a resolution in the crowded net of the New York Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev was the name suggested by many as being available for trade, but TSN’s Bob McKenzie does not see a deal happening this season. He reports that the Rangers continue to listen on Georgiev but are not actively shopping him and head coach David Quinn is content to carry three goalies and ride the hot hand. However, the best keeper of late has been Igor Shesterkin, not future Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist. McKenzie wonders if Lundqvist will be content in New York moving forward if he is playing more of a backup role to Shesterkin or if he could ask for a trade this summer or perhaps even at the deadline.
  • The insiders wrapped up with LeBrun relaying word from sources around the league that the Carolina Hurricanes are openly offering a first-round pick in exchange for a top-four defenseman with term. The Hurricanes are owners of two top picks, their own and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ from the Patrick Marleau trade, and GM Don Waddell clearly feels that he could part with one of the two if it means landing long-term help. Even after trading Justin Faulk before the season, the Hurricanes are still considered one of the deeper blue line units in the NHL. Yet, they have been on the hunt for a Faulk replacement much of the year and that search was amplified by the injury to Dougie Hamilton. In that vein, LeBrun adds that the team has had talks on rentals Sami Vatanen of the Devils and Brenden Dillon of the Sharks as a short-term fix with Hamilton out, but owner Tom Dundon has encouraged Waddell to avoid rentals and target term if he is going to trade a first-rounder.

Minnesota Wild “Open For Business”

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The Minnesota Wild have lost six of their last seven games and are 6-9-2 since the five-game winning streak that had fans hoping they could climb back into the playoff picture. That disappointing month has the team back in last place in the Central Division and eight points out of a playoff spot (with three teams between them and the wild card as well). With that in mind, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that GM Bill Guerin is considering selling off assets at the trade deadline. Darren Dreger of TSN reported as much on tonight’s edition of Insider Trading:

Another team to watch is the Minnesota Wild. I’m told that Bill Guerin is open for business, and part of the trade bait list could include veteran defenseman Mathew Dumba.

It might be surprising to hear Dumba’s name as part of the speculation. Just two seasons ago as a 23-year old he was a 50-point defenseman for the Wild, while also providing a physical presence every night. The seventh overall pick from 2012 is also right-handed and logs huge minutes every night, but after missing more than half of 2018-19 with a ruptured pectoral muscle hasn’t been able to find his offensive game.

Now 25, Dumba has just 13 points in 46 games this season and just seven of those have come at even-strength. While his shooting percentage of 2.7% is way under his career average, it’s obvious he hasn’t had the season many had hoped for.

Still, with a contract that extends through the 2022-23 season he still could be a valuable piece for the Wild to start a shake-up. Dumba carries a $6MM cap hit for those next three years, but doesn’t see his modified no-trade clause kick in until 2021. The team committed big money to another right-handed defensemen when they signed Jared Spurgeon to a seven-year, $53MM extension in September and still obviously have the contract of Ryan Suter to worry about on the back end.

While Dumba is obviously a useful player, if Guerin is looking to acquire some more financial flexibility he may be one of the only big tickets on the team (along with Jason Zucker) that could really bring back a substantial return. If the team is really “open for business,” Guerin may not be waiting until the offseason to make a change.

Minnesota Wild Owner Approves Of Seller Status At Deadline

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In direct opposition to comments made earlier today by head coach Bruce Boudreau, who guaranteed his team would make the playoffs, the owner and general manager of the Minnesota Wild have made other plans. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that owner Craig Leipold has given first-year GM Paul Fenton the “green light” to move roster players before the trade deadline given the team’s current slump.

Russo writes that Leipold and Fenton met yesterday to discuss the state of the team. Minnesota has just one win in it’s past seven games since losing captain Mikko Koivu to season-ending injury and has slipped into the thick of the “turtle derby” for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Wild have fallen significantly behind the Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues in the division and now hold on to the second wild card slot by a mere two points over the Vancouver Canucks with a game in hand. Behind Vancouver at 57 points sit the Arizona Coyotes, who are working toward full health, and the Colorado Avalanche, with their potent top line, both at 55 points and a game in hand on Minnesota. There’s also the Chicago Blackhawks at 55 points and even games and the Edmonton Oilers at 53 with a game in hand and a determination to make the postseason. The Wild are by no means guaranteed a playoff spot, even if they keep their current roster together or even make a minor addition or two, as an onslaught of other teams are within striking distance. In light of this situation, Leipold has given Fenton his approval to improve the Wild for the future if he can, even if that means hurting the team’s playoff odds.

So what exactly does this mean for Minnesota? Russo does not expect sweeping changes. He feels that Leipold and the Wild brass still feel that their Stanley Cup window is open, but without Koivu and Matt Dumba, the team’s odds of even making it to the postseason and through the first round are slim, never mind finally winning a title. The core players are likely safe, but Fenton will use his newly-granted flexibility to test the trade waters on his impending free agents and some other expendable pieces. Eric Staal is the player that will jump out to most; the respected veteran is in the final year of his contract and could help many contenders down the middle. Bottom-six forwards Eric Fehr, Matt Hendricks, and Matt Read and depth defenders Brad Hunt, Anthony Bitetto, Nate Prosser, and Matt Bartkowski are all impending UFA’s and should all be up for grabs as well. Among signed players, rumor mill regular Charlie Coyle and buried bruiser J.T. Brown are also obvious names to watch. Russo quickly examines the trade status of much of the roster and settles on Greg Pateryn and Marcus Foligno as possible outside-the-box casualties as well.

There isn’t going to be a fire sale in Minnesota, but no longer are the Wild going to be considered buyers. Perhaps a strong showing by the team in the six games between now and the deadline – four of which are against non-playoff teams – will even convince Fenton to stand pat and hope they can hold on to a wild card spot. However, if Minnesota cannot shake this slump, then Staal and any of the other marketable players mentioned are likely to be gone ahead of the deadline. Perhaps that causes the Wild to miss the playoffs, perhaps it doesn’t, but when the odds are 50/50 as is, the team may as well get what they can for expiring and expendable pieces.

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