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Matt Dumba, Dallas Stars (Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images)

Grading the Penguins & Stars’ Matt Dumba Trade

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Alex Chauvancy | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 4:25 PM ET

We were told the trade market would be heating up later this summer, and perhaps it is? Earlier this week, the Edmonton Oilers acquired Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now the Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired Matt Dumba from the Dallas Stars. Here are the full details of that trade:

Penguins receive:

Matt Dumba
2028 2nd-round pick

Stars receive:

Defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok

This is a minor deal in the grand scheme of things, but the Stars’ cap situation still needs cleaning up, so they had to shed the final year of Dumba’s $3.75 million cap hit. As for the Penguins, their intentions seem pretty clear. They’re going all-in on the Gavin McKenna Sweepstakes for the 2026 NHL Draft.

Stars Clear Cap Space & Net a Useful Player

The Stars probably weren’t expecting to be in this position this summer, but things change when you acquire a player like Mikko Rantanen and sign him to an extension worth $12 million per year. Their cap sheet needed some sprucing up, and Dumba was always a candidate to get dealt to free up cap space.

Dumba was once an effective top-four right-handed defenseman, but his play has fallen off in recent seasons. He finished with just ten points in 63 games during the 2024-25 campaign, and most of his underlying metrics have declined significantly. The Stars gave up 2.75 expected goals per 60 minutes in his five-on-five minutes this season, and he doesn’t generate the offense he once did.

Dumba is still surprisingly effective at defending the rush, and he will throw his body around, but he doesn’t add much more to a team’s lineup these days. As for Kolyachonok, he won’t move the needle much, but he’s a quietly underrated depth defender. The Penguins allowed just 2.57 expected goals against per 60 minutes in his five-on-five minutes, so he might carry some value for the Stars in a third-pair role.

Maybe this is being a bit too harsh on Dumba, but the Stars may have sneakily found an upgrade for their bottom pair while shedding $3.75 million in cap space. By moving Dumba, the Stars now have around $1.95 million in cap space after being north of $1 million over the ceiling, and they only had to attach a 2028 second-rounder as a sweetener to get the job done. That’s tidy business by general manager Jim Nill.

Stars Grade: A-

Penguins’ Intentions Clear

This is a bit of a curious trade for the Penguins. Getting a second-round pick doesn’t hurt, but it is not until the 2028 draft, and who knows how talented that draft class will end up being. Kolyachonok just turned 24 a month and a half ago, so you’d figure he’s a younger player the Penguins would want to hang on to, especially since he looks like a decent defenseman and could have more value down the road.

Dumba’s cap hit is not an issue since the Penguins have plenty of cap space, and there’s only a one-year commitment. Chances are that Penguins GM Kyle Dubas will flip him at the deadline and get another asset in return, likely a mid-round pick in one of the upcoming drafts. But it’s still a bit odd they had to give up someone of use to take on Dumba’s contract.

Regardless, it’s pretty clear what Dubas’ intentions are for the upcoming season. There’s plenty of hype about the 2026 draft aside from McKenna, but you can be sure Dubas has his sights set on McKenna, who’ll be playing college hockey just a couple of hours away from the Penguins at Penn State. That’s the goal when you take on the contract of a player like Dumba’s, but it is a little disappointing they had to give up a player of use to do so.

Penguins Grade: C+

Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick and Advanced Hockey Stats