Matt Dumba

Trade Rumors: Dubois, Byron, Dumba

January 13, 2021 at 8:11 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 14 Comments

The Pierre-Luc Dubois saga in Columbus took a another turn on Wednesday, as always-candid head coach John Tortorella appeared in an interview on 97.1 The Fan and did not hold back in his commentary on the situation surrounding his young forward. While he has not officially requested a trade from the Blue Jackets, contract negotiations with Dubois did not go well and the team has been led to believe that he would prefer a change of scenery. Tortorella took a more direct approach, outright confirming that this is the case:

Yeah, he wants out. He spoke to the team, as we do here. It’s a little bit different than (departed 2019 free agents Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky) were. This is a 22-year-old kid. It doesn’t happen that often, so he has been honest with the group.

Yet, Tortorella is not content with the explanations (or lack thereof) that Dubois has provided he and others. He remains unclear as to what has changed in the talented center, who looked like a budding superstar and long-term cornerstone in Columbus just months ago in the postseason. And if the coach himself is to blame, it doesn’t seem like Tortorella is willing to let that change his style or impact his locker room.

I wish he was a little bit more honest as far as reasons why. I still haven’t really gotten to that, but I think he needs to speak on that… I think that (conflict) is a really good thing in developing a hockey player. Now ’Luc’ may not think that. Sometimes these players, especially today’s athletes, think, ’You’re too hard on me, you’re picking on me’ and this and that. Maybe it’s too hard for him. I don’t know. I haven’t been given a reason why he wants to leave. He certainly hasn’t said it to me that ’I don’t want to play for you.’ I think if that’s the reason he should tell me, and he should really basically get in front of it and get up out of here. That’s just the way I think you should do business in this stuff here. There’s no sense of people trying to figure out what’s going on. Let’s get in front of it here and get about our business and try to be the best team we can be… It’s a short leash with me as far as this is concerned. He needs to continue to do the things to help this team win and be the best teammate he can be, or I’m not sure where it goes. It’s a situation and we’ll go to it day by day.

Tortorella’s very public and very honest take on Dubois is not going to make the situation any better, even if the coach is not to blame for the trade request. Initial reports stated that the Blue Jackets may take their time to deal Dubois, waiting to maximize the return as best they can while he hopefully continues to contribute on the ice. However, if the locker room becomes too toxic with a top player at odds with the head coach and openly opposed to any future with the organization, this situation may need a resolution sooner rather than later. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that suitors are already serious about adding Dubois, so if the Blue Jackets need to make a quick trade, they will still have plenty of offers to choose from.

The Montreal Canadiens were able to get under the salary cap ceiling, but it was a tight fit. CapFriendly shows the club with only $708K in space for just a 21-man roster. If the Habs want the flexibility to even field a full roster never mind make a trade addition this season, someone has to go. Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette writes that the name being whispered is that of Paul Byron. Byron has been a loyal soldier for Montreal over the past five years and has developed into one of the club’s locker room leaders. However, the Canadiens’ off-season additions of Josh Anderson and Tyler Toffoli and the emergence of youngsters Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have pushed Byron into a seemingly permanent bottom-six role. In fact, Byron played on the team’s fourth line throughout training camp and in Wednesday’s season opener. At a $3.4MM AAV through 2022-23, Byron is an expensive piece to be playing a checking role. The 31-year-old winger has not been durable either over the past couple of seasons either and may be ill-suited for his new position. Byron has scored at nearly a half-point per-game pace over the past four seasons combined and would be more valuable to another team that is able and willing to keep him in a scoring role. The question is whether that destination exists and, if so, will the Habs ultimately pull the trigger on dealing away a respected veteran.
One player enjoying the spotlight of rumor mill being off him for now is Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. Dumba has heard the noise for more than a year now, but remains with the Wild; and the talented blue liner is happy about that, he tells TwinCities.com’s Dane Mizutani. Mizutani is not the only one that Dumba has confided in, either. He has also gone directly to GM Bill Guerin and stated that he would like to remain with the team. Guerin will certainly listen to one of his best players, but he has to listen to offers as well with the threat of the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft looming. With fellow top-four defenders Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin all holding No-Movement Clauses in their current contracts and requiring protection from the expansion draft, Dumba would be the odd man out in the standard 7-3 protection scheme. Minnesota will definitely not allow the Seattle Kraken to acquire Dumba for free though, which has prompted his placement on the trade block. However, if Dumba can back up his desire to remain with the Wild with a strong 2020-21 campaign, Guerin may decide to go with the 8-skater protection scheme and expose three forwards rather than the skilled defenseman.

Minnesota Wild Not Shopping Matt Dumba

November 23, 2020 at 2:19 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 8 Comments

Trade speculation will always follow Matt Dumba. The Minnesota Wild defenseman has been in the rumor mill for years and after the team signed Jonas Brodin to a seven-year extension in September, things heated up again. Today, speaking with reporters including Tom Gulitti of NHL.com, Minnesota GM Bill Guerin made it clear that he is not shopping Dumba:

I’m prepared to start the season with him, and we really like that. He’s a good young player. He’s got good energy. I love his competitiveness. Our defensive corps, I’ll put them up against anybody’s.

Of course, some will read that quote and see that Guerin didn’t commit to holding Dumba all the way through the season. Even though the team has the cap space to keep all of their high-priced blue liners through the entire 2020-21 campaign—Dumba, Brodin, Ryan Suter, and Jared Spurgeon combine for a $25.3MM cap hit—something waits at the end of the road that may force them to complete a trade.

The Seattle Kraken will join the NHL as the league’s 32nd team in 2021 and they will have an expansion draft after the upcoming season to build the core of their team. The Wild, like every other team in the league (save for the Vegas Golden Knights), have a chance to protect several roster players from selection. The problem for Guerin is that teams are either allowed to protect seven forwards and three defensemen or eight skaters. Going the normal 7/3 route would mean Dumba is left unprotected, given the no-movement clauses that the other three hold (Brodin’s new contract added an NMC onto the final season of his last deal). Protecting eight would leave the team’s forward group a little more vulnerable, though it still may be the better option if a trade isn’t reached before the expansion proceedings.

Expansion concerns shouldn’t be new to Minnesota fans. When the Golden Knights entered the league, the Wild made a deal with them to select Erik Haula, trading them Alex Tuch for a third-round pick in the process. Dumba was the main reason for that move as he was left exposed (along with others like Eric Staal and Marco Scandella) but essentially protected through the deal to select Haula, who was a restricted free agent that the team was going to have trouble signing. It was obviously tough watching Tuch become a strong contributor in Vegas, scoring 20 goals and 52 points in 2018-19—it would be troubling to see the team have to do something similar this time around.

In the same interview, Guerin also explained that the Wild will be naming a new captain before the season begins. Mikko Koivu, who had worn the “C” for more than a decade in Minnesota, was let go this offseason and signed a one-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Dumba, Reinhart, Hickey

November 5, 2020 at 7:37 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

Earlier this offseason, it seemed quite possible that Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba would be on the move. They had signed Jonas Brodin to a long-term extension and with Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon already locked up on long-term deals themselves and Seattle’s expansion draft looming, Dumba seemed to be the odd one out. So much so, in fact, that Minnesota was shopping him back in September.

However, as Michael Russo of The Athletic reports (subscription link), a move isn’t likely to materialize now. He notes that talks have cooled down and teams simply aren’t willing to part with the impact center that it would require to make GM Bill Guerin pull the trigger on a trade. Many teams being capped out doesn’t help either.

There may come a time where Dumba is eventually moved (expansion could eventually force their hand) but it doesn’t appear as if it will be now. Instead, it looks as if the 26-year-old will get an opportunity to rebuild some trade value after a quiet year with the Wild, one that saw him put up 24 points in 69 games, well below the point-per-game output from his previous two years.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

Although Sabres forward Sam Reinhart wound up signing a one-year deal last month, he told Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that he is still hopeful to remain with Buffalo on a long-term contract down the road. Reinhart’s new pact will once again have him eligible for restricted free agency next offseason but at that time, he’ll only be a year away from UFA eligibility and could simply elect arbitration, take the award, and get to the open market. That doesn’t seem to be in the cards for the time being at least.
The Hurricanes have added some AHL depth as their AHL affiliate in Chicago announced the signing of defenseman Brandon Hickey to a minor league deal. The 24-year-old spent the past two years in Buffalo’s system following his acquisition from Arizona but was non-tendered by the Sabres last month after playing in just 23 games last season.

Central Notes: Dumba, Honka, Colorado

October 18, 2020 at 4:59 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

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

September 24, 2020 at 6:13 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 13 Comments

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

September 20, 2020 at 3:58 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 14 Comments

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

September 15, 2020 at 7:40 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 12 Comments

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

September 6, 2020 at 3:57 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

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

August 14, 2020 at 11:12 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 8 Comments

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

July 27, 2020 at 3:20 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 4 Comments

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