Despite being in third place in the Central Division, the Minnesota Wild have been rumored to be shopping defenseman Matt Dumba around as of late, and according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, two Canadian teams are showing interest.
Dumba, 28, has spent his entire 558-game career with the Minnesota Wild, accumulating 79 goals and 233 points during that span. The seventh overall pick from the 2012 draft is in the final season of a five-year, $30 million deal, and doesn’t appear likely to re-sign with the Wild, hence him being made available to other clubs.
As mentioned, there are two Canadian clubs said to be interested in Dumba, that being the Edmonton Oilers and the Ottawa Senators. Speaking on Tuesday’s Insider Trading, Dreger confirmed that both have reached out to the Wild in regards to their interest.
“When I think of a team that may have a defenseman available, I think of Matt Dumba and the Minnesota Wild,” Dreger said. “There’s no question that the Edmonton Oilers and Ottawa Senators have reached out and do have interest in Dumba. Why wouldn’t you? He’s 28-years-old, he’s a right shot defenseman and he’s a pending unrestricted free agent. The problem from the Wild’s standpoint is they need him. They’re playing pretty well right now. They’re not sure just yet they are ready to move on from Matt Dumba even though you look into the future and you see the cap issue of the Minnesota Wild … But the price would be high and then the Wild would have to hit the market potentially to find someone to replace Matt Dumba.”
As Dreger mentioned, trading Dumba only to have to replace him makes little to no sense for the Wild, but nonetheless they do appear to be shopping him. From a hockey perspective, acquiring him makes sense for both the Oilers and Senators, two teams that have plenty of offensive power but could use some serious improvements on their respective blue lines if they hope to qualify for the postseason. Of course, with the deadline still nearly two months away, it may take some time for something to transpire.
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