For the second straight offseason defenseman Matt Dumba will hit unrestricted free agency as his current organization will not submit an extension offer. Earlier today, David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod reported that the Tampa Bay Lightning will let Dumba walk to free agency. The choice was made after re-acquiring Ryan McDonagh from the Nashville Predators.
Last summer, Dumba became an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career after seeing his five-year, $30M contract with the Minnesota Wild conclude. In the year that Dumba originally signed his extension with the Wild organization, he was in the midst of a 14-goal, 50-point campaign, but he was unable to replicate his performance over the contract extension.
Seeing his stock drop precipitously in his last few years in Minnesota, Dumba settled for a one-year, $3.9M contract with the Arizona Coyotes on Aug. 6 last year. With better access to powerplay time, and immediately becoming one of the team’s best defensemen on paper, Dumba’s contract with the Coyotes was perceived to be an easy gamble on Dumba’s part.
Unfortunately for Dumba, his play in Arizona did not work out as the player had hoped, and he quickly fell down the depth chart with his poor play. Unable to generate any offense from the back end, Dumba scored four goals and 10 points in 58 games while posting a -13 rating after averaging just over 20 minutes of ice time per game.
Dumba was eventually traded to the Lightning organization for a fifth-round draft selection in the 2027 NHL Draft shortly before the deadline. Brought in primarily as additional depth due to the season-long injury of Mikhail Sergachev, Dumba would only tally two assists in 18 games for Tampa Bay.
Heading into this summer, Dumba should not expect to earn anywhere close to his nearly $4M salary from the 2023-24 regular season. Much like his decision to sign with the Coyotes last year, Dumba will almost certainly have to look for an organization dramatically thin on defensive depth; this time on a much lower salary.
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