(Photo : (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)) TEMPE, ARIZONA – JANUARY 11: Matt Dumba #24 of the Arizona Coyotes warms up earlier than the NHL sport towards the Calgary Flames at Mullett Arena on January 11, 2024 in Tempe, Arizona.
Veteran Arizona Coyotes defenseman Matt Dumba may make an enormous distinction for a Stanley Cup contender if he is moved previous to the March 8 NHL Trade Deadline.
The Coyotes received off to a very good begin to this season, staying within the playoff race into January regardless of low expectations for this 12 months’s group.
That all fell aside horribly starting in late January, when the Coyotes dropped a 6-2 choice to the Florida Panthers on the twenty fourth. They have not gained a single sport since, dropping to 23-29-5 general for the season and falling out of the playoff race solely.
That places this group in a well-recognized place. The crew is underperforming; they will be sellers on the commerce deadline, and important uncertainty over their future in Arizona abounds.
Arizona’s standing as sellers signifies that Dumba might be heading to a contending crew, and the dynamic veteran defenseman may have fairly the marketplace for his providers as a number of contending groups are in want of a top quality right-handed defender.
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NHL Trade Deadline: Matt Dumba
Contract Situation: Expires after this season at a $3.9 million cap hit
Season Stats: 4 objectives, 5 assists for 9 factors in 53 video games performed
Possible Destinations: Tampa Bay, Toronto, Boston, Colorado, Edmonton
Dumba is struggling this season in his first 12 months with the Coyotes, which is the primary 12 months he is performed away from the Minnesota Wild, who drafted him in 2012 with the seventh general decide within the draft.
The 29-year-old had a poor season from a manufacturing standpoint then, too, however given his age it is affordable to imagine that he nonetheless has a number of good years of play left in him.
Though his profession has been suffering from accidents and sturdiness considerations, Dumba is a uniquely dynamic participant when he’s at his greatest. His capacity to hurry the puck will not be elite, but it surely’s superb and it pairs properly with a booming shot and his trademark physicality on the defensive finish.
Dumba’s underlying numbers have taken a success this season with the Coyotes, however he put up 5-on-5 anticipated objectives for shares of over 52 p.c in his final two years in Minnesota. The hit has come on the defensive aspect this 12 months, along with his xGA/60 going from what was a really standard 2.12 final 12 months to a career-high 2.51 this 12 months.
That’s most likely extra resulting from structural weaknesses that exist on the Coyotes greater than it’s his personal decline, although it is truthful to surprise if he has misplaced a few of his upside for offensive manufacturing.
Several Eastern Conference groups needs to be choosing up the telephone to ask about his availability, and it might really feel so proper for both Tampa Bay or Boston to pluck Dumba from the Coyotes, put him in a stable defensive infrastructure and reap critical rewards for the acquisition.
Toronto and Edmonton make loads of sense as properly, however one thing in regards to the match with both the Lightning or Bruins makes an excessive amount of sense.
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