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Matt Dumba

Arizona Coyotes Sign Matt Dumba

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Aug 7, 11:02 am: The Coyotes have officially announced the deal, bringing Dumba to the desert on a one-year pact.

Aug 6, 12:33 pm: PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan later reported the actual cap hit of Dumba’s deal will be $3.9MM.

Aug 6, 12:09 pm: The Arizona Coyotes are closing in on a one-year, $4MM contract with UFA defenseman Matt Dumba, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Dumba, 29, once looked to be on track to become a bonafide top-pairing defender after notching 50 points in 82 games with the Minnesota Wild at just 23 years old in 2017-18. After tearing his pectoral muscle 32 games into the 2018-19 campaign, though, Dumba’s production and all-around play have dipped significantly. It’s led to Dumba’s name appearing in trade rumors throughout the past few seasons, but the Wild never did move him, opting to let him walk as a free agent instead.

Things came to a head in 2022-23, which was arguably Dumba’s worst season of his NHL career to date. His four goals, 14 points, and -8 rating were all career lows for a full season, despite still receiving significant minutes at 21:17 per game. He posted a sub-zero relative Corsi for at even strength for the second straight campaign, suggesting his effectiveness in possession has waned as well. He’s posted solid results when utilized on the penalty kill, however. His past high-end production does suggest he has the raw skill to have somewhat of a return to form with a fresh start, too.

That’s what the Coyotes are banking on here, as PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports they’ve been pursuing Dumba since free agency opened on July 1. With all other options exhausted, Dumba likely agreed to the one-year pact in hopes of rebuilding his value to earn a longer-term commitment next summer.

He also provides a type of player the Coyotes don’t have – a veteran defenseman with experience playing top-four minutes. Arizona has a forward corps that’s bordering on competitiveness now, but their defense is undoubtedly their biggest weakness as they attempt to turn the corner in their years-long rebuild. 23-year-old J.J. Moser, who was drafted 60th overall just two years ago, is the only defender on their team to average over 20 minutes per game last season. Moser could very well end up as Dumba’s defense partner to open the season as the Coyotes’ top pairing.

After terminating Jean-Sebastien Dea’s contract, the Coyotes will again be at 49 out of the maximum 50 contracts after signing Dumba. The 50th spot is reserved for young forward Jan Jenik, who remains a restricted free agent and does not have a contract for next season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agent Profile: Caleb Jones

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It’s hard to believe it, but the NHL season starts in just over two months. For some NHLers they will soon be making plans to return to their respective cities to begin the upcoming season, for others like defenseman Caleb Jones, his plan is to try to find an NHL job in the next nine weeks.

It was surprising to see Jones go unqualified, as the Chicago Blackhawks elected to let him become a free agent rather than offer him a qualifying offer. Chicago needed to tender the 26-year-old at $1.35MM, but he was made a free agent when Chicago didn’t make the offer. Now, almost a month into free agency Jones remains unsigned, a somewhat surprising development for a player who has shown promise in his young career.

Jones, the younger brother of Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones, was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the fourth round back in 2015 and played 93 games over parts of three seasons with the club before he was traded to Chicago in July 2021 as part of the Duncan Keith trade. Jones then dressed in 124 games over the past two years with the Blackhawks, putting up 9 goals and 22 assists.

Last year was a career year for Jones, as he had four goals and 12 assists in 73 games while playing over 19 minutes a night. Jones was tasked with playing second-pairing minutes on a very bad Chicago team and faired well despite not contributing much offensively. Jones led the defense core in many analytical categories and did a decent job controlling the play when he was on the ice.

Jones has typically demonstrated a good ability to move the puck well, utilizing his skating to push the puck up the ice and can keep himself mobile in the defensive zone to be a disruptive force on both the penalty kill and at even strength. However, he is not his older brother and doesn’t possess nearly the offensive acumen that Seth has displayed throughout his career.

The issue that Jones may face when trying to lock down an NHL job is that there is a bit of a surplus of left-shot depth defensemen in the NHL. Pittsburgh has Ty Smith and Pierre-Olivier Joseph competing for one spot on their third pairing, as do the Calgary Flames, with Oliver Kylington now returning after a one-year absence. The Ottawa Senators have several solid left-shot options throughout their NHL lineup, as do many other teams. For Jones, he could offer a solid third-pairing option, but there are very few teams who need that right now.

Stats

2022-23: 73 GP, 4-14-16, -19 rating, 40 PIMS, 86 shots, 48.9% CF, 19:13 ATOI
Career: 217 GP, 14-36-50, -39 rating, 80 PIMS, 225 shots, 48.1% CF, 16:49 ATOI

Potential Suitors

Jones would have teams lining up for his services if he was a right-shot defenseman, but he shoots left and typically plays the left side. While his market will be small, there are sure to be teams that could find a role for the younger Jones brother.

In the East, the Buffalo Sabres have Ilya Lyubushkin slated to play as a third bottom-pair left-side defenseman, and while he offers a physical element and does a good job suppressing scoring chances, he is not a good puck mover and isn’t particularly adept at much else. Jones could push Lyubushkin and create healthy competition for playing time in the Sabres defense core. The one barrier for Jones to Buffalo could be that the Sabres have already brought in Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton in free agency, and management may feel that they’ve already brought in enough competition on their back end.

In the West, The Anaheim Ducks have brought in a few NHL veterans to try and give guidance to their young stars. While Radko Gudas will bring some leadership and physicality on the back end, the Ducks could use a few more veterans who can teach their young players to become good pros. Jones could be a solid fit for the role as he has already played on a young, bad, rebuilding team and knows the challenges and tribulations that come with the growing pains of a rebuild.

Sticking with the West, another rebuilding club that could use some help on the backend is the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks aren’t pushing to make the playoffs this year, but that doesn’t mean they should stop looking for improvements. At the moment, the Sharks have 30-year-old journeyman Jacob MacDonald penciled in as their third pairing left side defenseman and Marc-Édouard Vlasic on their second pair. Vlasic was a terrific shutdown defender for a long time, but he has seen notable declines in his game for the past five years or so. Jones would likely offer an upgrade on both men while not costing San Jose much in the way of assets.

Projected Contract

Unfortunately for Jones, he is most likely going to be taking a pay cut from the $1.35MM he made last season. There should be a small market for his services as the season nears, but the native of Arlington, Texas, might have to sign a professional try-out to get teams interested in his services. Matt Dumba and Ethan Bear are both still unrestricted and might attract more interest as they are right-shot defensemen and have better track records. Jones should ultimately be able to find an NHL deal, but when he does, it will likely come in around the league minimum or a tick above it. There were many NHL defensemen who found deals late in the summer last year, and it seems that could happen again this summer with Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Profile: Matt Dumba

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Generally speaking, impact defensemen are snapped up quickly in free agency.  However, now three weeks into the open market, Mathew Dumba remains without a contract which comes as a bit of a surprise.

Back in 2018, the 28-year-old was coming off a breakout year, one that saw him put up 50 points while logging nearly 24 minutes a night.  It looked as if he was well on his way to becoming a long-term, top-pairing piece for Minnesota.  However, he battled injury trouble the following year and since then, things haven’t gone as well.

Dumba has yet to reach the 30-point plateau since his career year and was basically taken off the power play entirely last season.  Despite that, he has continually logged heavy minutes for the Wild and entered free agency as arguably the top right-shot defender available after Damon Severson reached a sign-and-trade deal with Columbus, taking his name off the free agent list in the process.

But despite that status and what has still been a pretty successful career thus far, Dumba remains unsigned.  It’s a situation where he might have to wait for another domino to fall before his market really opens up as well.

Stats

2022-23: 79 GP, 4-10-14, -8 rating, 81 PIMS, 99 shots, 116 blocks, 49.0% CF, 21:17 ATOI
Career: 598 GP, 79-157-236, +29 rating, 399 PIMS, 1,121 shots, 699 blocks, 49.1% CF, 20:37 ATOI

Potential Suitors

There are a couple of potential types of suitors for Dumba’s services.  There will be some that strike out in the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes that will turn around and pivot to Dumba to try to land at least a top-four addition.  Alternatively, if the market isn’t to Dumba’s liking, he’s a strong candidate to sign a one-year pillow contract with an eye on boosting his value, possibly being moved at the deadline, and hitting the market again next summer in a more favorable cap environment.

In the East, Toronto showed interest in him early before pivoting to former teammate John Klingberg.  While making the money would be tricky, they’re believed to have shown interest in Karlsson so new GM Brad Treliving appears to have some sort of plan to get creative to make the money work.  Dumba might not be a great long-term fit in Detroit but they have enough cap space for a one-year agreement that would go a long way toward helping their playoff chances.  With Carolina sniffing around on Karlsson, it stands to reason that Dumba could be an option there as well assuming they can open up the cap space to do so.  If he’s willing to sign for the type of money that Brett Pesce (a UFA next summer) isn’t, there could be a long-term fit.

Out West, the Coyotes have been linked to Dumba since the market opened up.  They have a definite need to add on the back end and could be a fit either on a pillow deal or a longer-term agreement where he becomes a key part of their core group.  Depending on what happens with Karlsson and if they take a right-shot defender back as part of a return, the Sharks could be a fit for both options as well.  If Nashville is looking to stay in the playoff mix, Dumba would help solidify their top four and they have the cap space to sign him without needing to make another move.  If Anaheim wants to do like they did with Klingberg a year ago, the Ducks could be a viable landing spot for a one-year deal with the hopes that this one would turn out better than the deal with Klingberg ultimately did.

Projected Contract

Dumba slotted in 18th on our Top 50 UFA Rankings with a projected contract of four years at an AAV of $5.25MM.  At this point in time, it seems fair to suggest that a deal of that value hasn’t been on the table yet; otherwise, he likely would have taken it.  It’s possible that Dumba could still reach that price tag but only on a one-year deal.  Otherwise, a longer-term agreement might check in closer to the $4MM mark.  If Dumba believes a change of scenery could help him rediscover his offensive touch, he might be better off taking a one-year agreement and then aiming for a better longer-term deal than he could get now in 2024 when there should be more money to spend in free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

2023 Free Agency Update

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Now that a full week has passed since the free agent market opened up on July 1st, there are still quite a few quality players left on the market. Unfortunately for most of these players, the fact that the salary cap only went up to $83.5MM for the 2023-24 season, has severely limited teams from adding more talent to their roster.

There are a few teams, such as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Vegas Golden Knights that are currently too close to the cap to make any more significant additions; however, there are a number of teams that still have some financial wiggle room. In this list, we will go through some of the top remaining names left on the market organized by position.

Forwards

Patrick Kane – His long-time teammate, Jonathan Toews, is most likely headed towards retirement, but thus far, there has been no indication to suggest that Kane will join him down that path. During the 2021-22 season, Kane continued displaying incredible offensive talent, which has spanned over the last decade, evidenced by his 92 points in 78 games. Unfortunately for Kane, a nagging hip injury seemed to follow him around, as he was only able to muster a total of 35 points in 50 games for the Chicago Blackhawks, only nine of those being goals. As the league grew closer to the trade deadline, speculation grew that Kane may not be moved at all.

To prove the doubters wrong, in his last five games wearing a Blackhawks uniform, Kane scored three goals and seven assists in five games and was promptly moved to the New York Rangers. Needing some time to adjust to a new environment, Kane put up a respectable 12 points in 19 games for the Rangers during the regular season. Even more importantly, Kane did continue his impressive career-long playoff success, scoring six points in seven games for New York.

Vladimir Tarasenko – Now one of Kane’s former teammates with the Rangers, Tarasenko is also suffering from a depressed year according to his standards. Just a season ago, Tarasenko finished with 82 points in 75 games, looking to be setting himself nicely to hit the market this offseason. Much like Kane, Tarasenko’s offensive numbers took a dive, only scoring 10 goals in 38 games for the St.Louis Blues, before he was also traded to New York before the deadline.

In 31 games for the Rangers, Tarasenko did see a slight offensive output improvement, but not by much. In 31 games in New York, he scored eight goals and 13 assists, adding another four points in seven playoff games. Tarasenko had been heavily linked to the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes towards the opening of the market, but was so underwhelmed by his offers, that he switched his representation to CAA Hockey.

Tomas Tatar – One of the more interesting names still available in the free agency market, Tatar has made it difficult for teams to gauge exactly what kind of player they are going to get. In the regular season, he is typically good for 20 goals, and anywhere from 25-35 assists. Last season playing for the New Jersey Devils, Tatar scored 20 goals and 28 assists in 82 games, impressively carrying a rating of +41 at season’s end.

Not only does he carry above-average offensive output for the majority of his career, his possession numbers are solid too, evidenced by his career marks of 60.6 CF%. The major problem for Tatar is the completely different player that seems to come out during the playoffs. In 52 career playoff games, Tatar carries a horrid seven goals and six assists, and an even worse -14 rating. This fact about Tatar has likely driven playoff teams away from his camp, and even rebuilding teams as well, as they likely wouldn’t receive much interest for his services at the trade deadline.

Defensemen

Mathew Dumba – One of the focal points to the Minnesota Wild’s defense over the last decade, Dumba has seemingly become a different player after his impressive 2017-18 season. The offensive numbers have taken the biggest hit, only scoring 94 points in the last 209 games wearing a Wild jersey. Things are not all bad though for Dumba, as he regularly played over 20 minutes a game in Minnesota, saw ice time on the penalty kill, and still carries an oiSV% of 90.5.

Because of their cap situation, it is more than likely that Dumba has played his last game for the Wild, and the two most interested teams find themselves well out of the playoff picture for the next couple of seasons. The Arizona Coyotes have reportedly been linked to Dumba, giving him better access to power-play time; and the San Jose Sharks have considered adding him as well, citing Dumba as a possible replacement for Erik Karlsson.

Goaltenders

Martin Jones – The 2023 free agency class was always considered thin, and the goalie market may have been the thinnest of all positions. Most quality names have already signed up to this point, making Jones one of the better options still available.

During the 2022-23 season, Jones had a back-and-forth season. During a stretch in early January for Seattle, Jones produced a record of 7-0-0, carrying a .926 SV% during that stretch. The win streaks that the Kraken were able to achieve with Jones in the net ultimately put the team in the playoffs, but the overall picture of Jones’ year doesn’t look promising. Although finishing with a great record of 27-13-3, Jones finished the year with a .886 SV% and a 2.99 GAA. The underlying numbers don’t bode well for Jones either, as his GSAA finished at -21.4.

Latest On Erik Karlsson Trade Talks

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Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported today on the NHL Network that the San Jose Sharks remain steadfast in their efforts to trade reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. Friedman goes on to say that the Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins are the two teams that the Sharks are talking to and adds that Carolina may need to work out of a move for defenseman Brett Pesce to acquire some assets to complete a Karlsson deal.

On the Pittsburgh side of things, Josh Yohe of The Athletic wrote an article today that outlined why Erik Karlsson is the type of player that general manager Kyle Dubas needs to acquire. Yohe highlights exactly why Karlsson is the right player for the team and the situation the Penguins are currently in. While most of Yohe’s article is in defense of the Penguins acquiring the defenseman, he also adds a couple of pieces of information regarding a potential move. Yohe says that any move Pittsburgh makes for Karlsson would be complex and would involve a third team, which is no surprise given that Karlsson is owed $11.5MM annually for the next four seasons.

Friedman reported Tuesday on his 32 Thoughts Podcast that one hold-up to the potential deal was that teams wanted the Sharks to retain more of Karlsson’s cap hit. He went on to add that at the trade deadline in March San Jose was willing to retain between 18-20% of Karlsson’s cap hit to facilitate a deal. Friedman believes the Sharks will need to retain closer to 30% of the deal which would turn Karlsson into an $8MM player for the acquiring team, and should net the Sharks a better return. Something they are open to. Friedman also reported today on the NHL Network that he believes the Sharks have pursued unrestricted free-agent defenseman Matt Dumba as a possible replacement for Karlsson.

At this point, it almost feels as though the Penguins must acquire Karlsson. Not only would they block Carolina from adding Karlsson to their already stacked defensive unit, but it would help to jump-start their offence which became stale last year for long stretches. Pittsburgh feels like a team that needs a jolt as they have been unable to get out of the first round of the playoffs since 2018 and didn’t even qualify for the postseason last year. Adding a 101-point defenseman would also alleviate some of the offensive pressure off Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of the Penguins’ top-6 forward group who almost single-handily carried the team last season. And while Dubas has been busy overhauling the black hole that was the Penguins’ bottom six, he still hasn’t added much in the way of offensive firepower.

Snapshots: Nylander, Dumba, Domi

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Chris Johnston reported on The Chris Johnston Show that the Toronto Maple Leafs and forward William Nylander remain far apart in extension talks. Johnston said that he believes that the 27-year-old is looking for a contract that pays him over $10MM annually while the Maple Leafs offer is in the range of $8MM-$9MM per season.

Nylander’s ask is reasonable given that he has put up back-to-back 80+ point seasons and is a pending unrestricted free agent. The trouble for the Leafs will be managing a potential Nylander extension with the cap hits of Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and whatever number Auston Matthews signs for. Couple that with the Morgan Rielly extension and a salary cap that hasn’t budged much in recent seasons, and it could create a very top-heavy team in Toronto going forward.

Nylander had a career year last season putting up 40 goals and 47 assists in 82 games and has silenced critics in recent years who doubted his ability to score in the postseason. Nylander has been a point a game player in both the regular season and the playoffs the past few years and would generate a ton of interest if his name were to be floated in the trade market.

In other snapshots from around the NHL:

  • Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports is reporting that the Arizona Coyotes have been in pursuit of free agent defenseman Matt Dumba since the start of free agency on Saturday. Dumba picked a very unfortunate time to have the worst offensive season of his NHL career as he put up just four goals and 10 assists this past season in 79 games with the Minnesota Wild. The 28-year-old Regina native has been a 25-point defenseman for most of his career but regressed offensively last year and saw very little in the way of power play time. Arizona has been aggressive in free agency thus far signing Jason Zucker, Alexander Kerfoot, and retaining Nick Bjugstad while trading for defenseman Sean Durzi.
  • Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet mentioned this morning that newly acquired Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi would like to remain with the team well beyond the one year he signed on for. Domi was inked to a one-year deal that will pay him $3MM this season, but as Friedman puts it Domi wants Toronto to be his long-term home and it’s easy to see why. Domi’s father Tie Domi was one of the most popular Maple Leafs in recent history and Max spent much of his childhood in Toronto while his father was still playing. He will now get the chance to put on the same jersey he watched his father wear and play in front of the same fans who cheered his Dad on for 12 seasons.

NHL Announces 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy Nominees

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In an announcement made Tuesday afternoon, the NHL unveiled the list of nominees for the 2023 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities both on and off the ice, as well as making a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to their community.

The list of nominees for this year’s award is an impressive one, featuring some of the league’s most well-respected captains, such as Boston’s Patrice Bergeron and Florida’s Aleksander Barkov.

One notable nominee is one of the youngest captains in the league – Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk. Tkachuk, in a few short years as a Senator, has already implanted himself in the community, especially in recent seasons. Working with the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, Tkachuk hosts the ’Tkachuk’s Captains’ program, which works with kids at club locations across Ottawa to help develop leadership skills.

That’s not to diminish the off-ice efforts of anyone else named on the full list of nominees, found below. While an often-overlooked award, it’s a great way to highlight some players who focus on making positive contributions to their communities.

Anaheim: Kevin Shattenkirk
Arizona: Travis Boyd
Boston: Patrice Bergeron
Buffalo: Alex Tuch
Calgary: Mikael Backlund
Carolina: Jordan Staal
Chicago: Connor Murphy
Colorado: Devon Toews
Columbus: Zach Werenski
Dallas: Jason Robertson
Detroit: Dylan Larkin
Edmonton: Darnell Nurse
Florida: Aleksander Barkov
Los Angeles: Mikey Anderson
Minnesota: Matt Dumba
Montreal: Jordan Harris
Nashville: Juuse Saros
New Jersey: Jack Hughes
NY Islanders: Anders Lee
NY Rangers: Jacob Trouba
Ottawa: Brady Tkachuk
Philadelphia: Scott Laughton
Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin
San Jose: Luke Kunin
Seattle: Chris Driedger
St. Louis: Brayden Schenn
Tampa Bay: Victor Hedman
Toronto: Morgan Rielly
Vancouver: Elias Pettersson
Vegas: Reilly Smith
Washington: Tom Wilson
Winnipeg: Blake Wheeler

Latest On Matt Dumba

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The Minnesota Wild’s 2022-23 season ended with yet another first-round playoff loss last week, beginning the offseason work of general manager Bill Guerin. Guerin has a tall task ahead of him, as his mandate is to build a Stanley Cup contender around superstar Kirill Kaprizov but he must do so with the cap penalties charged for the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts set to rise to nearly $15MM combined.

One of the first cap casualties the Wild are anticipated to face due to the cost of those buyouts regards longtime Wild blueline staple Matt Dumba. The five-year, $6MM AAV contract Dumba signed in 2018 is set to expire, leaving his future in Minnesota in uncertain territory. Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts podcast that it is “much more likely than not [Dumba] tests the market” when the new league year begins in the summer.

While Dumba may not reach the $6MM on his next contract that he earned on his last, it seems as though the Wild simply will not have the financial bandwidth to offer Dumba a market-rate contract. Friedman did add that the Wild are not yet closing the door on finding a way to retain Dumba, due to how much they respect and appreciate the player, but that his return has to be considered highly unlikely.

The upcoming class of free agent right-shot defensemen isn’t exactly overflowing with talent, and Dumba fits in as one of the top names set to be available, next to teammate John Klingberg and New Jersey Devils rearguard Damon Severson. While Dumba’s play has definitely declined since his 50-point peak in 2017-18, and his offensive production hit career-lows this past season, the 28-year-old still gave head coach Dean Evason over 21 minutes a night, including nearly two minutes short-handed.

21 minutes a night is, to be fair, a noticeable decline from the past few years as Dumba hadn’t averaged below 22 nightly minutes since he was in his first few seasons as an NHL regular. As a result, this decline in tangible returns for Dumba’s play (the decrease in ice time, points production) has left the 28-year-old’s ultimate value in a relatively nebulous place.

Is he still the dynamic, at times game-changing blueliner he was in the past? Can he still reach that point on his next contract?

Or is he a defense-only blueliner at this point in his career, and if that’s the case how much value in his own end will he bring?

Those are the questions teams will have to answer for themselves when they ponder extending Dumba a contract offer in the offseason.

It’s unclear at the current moment the level of wider leaguewide interest there is in Dumba, though it’s worth noting that all it really takes is one “believer” for Dumba to get a nice payday on his next deal.

Based on the fact that the Wild remain passionate supporters of Dumba’s overall value, and the fact that the team is still reportedly holding out hope they can find a way to retain him despite their dire cap situation, it’s entirely possible that another front office holds Dumba in a similarly high regard. If that’s the case, though, then his time in Minnesota (which has thus far lasted nearly 600 games played) is likely over.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

No Supplemental Discipline Coming For Matt Dumba

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The Minnesota Wild scored an impressive overtime victory over the Dallas Stars last night, but some wondered whether they would lose a key defenseman for the next matchup. Matt Dumba’s huge hit on Joe Pavelski caused a ton of chatter across the hockey world, with some believing it was a clear suspension and others seeing it as a legal hit.

Greg Wyshynski of ESPN reports that the league falls in the latter category. There will be no supplemental discipline for Dumba, with Wyshynski’s NHL source saying it was “close to being late, but within [the] allowable window.”

Dumba earned a two-minute roughing penalty on the play after a review from the on-ice officials deemed it not worthy of a five-minute penalty.

Pavelski would play just over ten minutes, recording an assist before exiting with a head injury.

This is not the first time that the veteran forward has been involved in a controversial (and scary) playoff incident. In 2019, while still with the San Jose Sharks, he landed awkwardly on the ice after a faceoff against the Vegas Golden Knights as blood pooled under his head. The Sharks received a five-minute powerplay for that event, a decision that even Pavelski didn’t agree with in the light of day.

The Stars are now down a game and potentially without one of their leaders for a little while. Head coach Peter DeBoer explained last night that Pavelski was doing okay, but that he wasn’t confident about his status for game two.

Minnesota Wild Sign Frederick Gaudreau To Extension

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The Minnesota Wild announced that they’ve taken care of some offseason business early as they have inked forward Frederick Gaudreau to a five year $10.5MM extension. Gaudreau was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, but his extension will keep him with the Wild for the next five seasons.

Gaudreau originally signed a two year $2.4MM contract with the Wild in July 2021 after spending a single season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. While that contract carried some risk, it turned out to be an absolute bargain for Minnesota. The 29-year-old has put up 80 points in 157 games for Minnesota and added some cheap depth scoring.

Minnesota has been hamstrung by the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The veterans buyout will account for nearly $15MM of the Wild’s salary cap space next year. Despite the cap issues, GM Bill Guerin has been able to bargain shop on multiple occasions and hit more often than he misses.  Even more impressive for Guerin is that he’s been able to build a competitive team without cap space and while also not mortgaging the future. Minnesota has all their first and second round draft picks for the near future.

While getting the Gaudreau contract done early is a tidy piece of business for the Wild, they do have some other pending free agents who will be much more difficult to extend and just $6.8MM in cap space to do it. John Klingberg, Matt Dumba, Gustav Nyquist and Oskar Sundqvist are all unrestricted, while defenseman Calen Addison and goaltender Filip Gustavsson are restricted free agents. Minnesota will likely have to make some tough decisions this summer, but with one of the best farm systems in the NHL, they should be able to remain competitive while getting younger and cheaper.

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