Matt Dumba: The Latest Defenseman Rumored To Be Linked To The Flyers

With this past horrid season now behind the Flyers, it’s no secret that the team’s general manager (GM) Chuck Fletcher will be once again looking for defensive help, especially one who plays the right side so they can slot in next season alongside the team’s star defenseman Ivan Provorov. With names like Carolina’s soon to be unrestricted free agent Dougie Hamilton being granted permission recently to see what’s out there as far as interest, along with Columbus’ Seth Jones’ name headlining the trade rumor mill these days, it doesn’t seem like Fletcher should be running out of players to choose from to make his team better any time soon. But one more name (that Chuck is oh so familiar with) just got added to that list recently by Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman. This is Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild, with whom Friedman even thinks the Flyers may already be in talks with the Wild about acquiring.

Dumba, who Chuck drafted 7^th overall from the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League (WHL) back in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft during his tenure with the Wild, could be just the player that Fletcher most covets this off season. For one, he does possess that elusive right-hand-shot the Flyers so desperately need on the back end. Secondly, Dumba also tends to be very physical- he is arguably one of the best in the league when it comes to laying an open-ice hit. (which we all know the Flyers could most certainly use in their lineup as well). Best of all though, Matt is only 26-years-of age with two years remaining on his deal which pays him $6,000,000 per season that doesn’t implement any sort of non-movement clause until the start of next season. So, in theory if acquired this off season and then later on down the road, if re-signed, he could be a staple on Philadelphia’s blue line for the next 10 years. 

By now you may be thinking “this is just another rumor why in the world would the Wild’s GM Bill Guerin be willing to part with a still relatively young defenseman just coming into his prime who has term still left on his contract?” Well, the answer would be the Seattle Kraken’s expansion draft. If the Wild are to follow the conventional method of protecting 7 forwards, 3 defensemen, and 1 goalie, Minnesota will be forced to protect defensemen Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, and Jonas Brodin since they all have “no movement” clauses in their contracts. This would then leave Dumba available for the Kraken to wrap their tentacles around and swipe him away from the Wild’s roster without hesitation. 

Seeing this, it would then seem almost in the best interest of Mr. Guerin and his team to trade him right now to try and get something back for him that can help bolster their lineup before the Wild loses him for nothing. 

What might the Wild want in return for this 6’0 185-pound defenseman’s services you might be asking? Well, it is rumored that the Wild are looking for some top 6 forwards who could complement their rising star- this year’s Calder Trophy finalist: Kirill Kaprizov (who Chuck drafted in 2015 in the 5^th round while with the Wild). 

While this trade would certainly impair the Wild’s defense for the coming season, they are sure to come out of it just fine considering they have guys already signed like 21-year-old RHS defenseman Calen Addison and their impressive 2020 2^nd round pick 19-year-old defenseman Ryan O’Rourke, both of whom are continuing to develop and nearing readiness for a full-time gig with the big club soon enough.  

This rumor- out of all the others currently floating around- is the one most likely to be placed into fruition. Fletcher has already shown in his short time spent in Philadelphia that he is one to follow the EPA guidelines of reduce, reuse and recycle when he brought in former players of his: Chris Stewart, Kurtis Gabriel, and Nate Prosser; So why wouldn’t he be willing to do it again? Especially if it would bring in a player who just won the ‘19-‘20 NHL Leadership-Humanitarian award (King Clancy Trophy) and has career stats as follows:  462 games played; 68 goals, 127 assists, for 195 points, while averaging a +28 during that time.

Adding such a player to the Flyers’ roster could be just the move that would accelerate the Flyers’ chances at returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs as early as next season. Matt Dumba’s game contains all the things that the Flyers lack on the back end: A defensively responsible player who is a right-hand shot, that plays physically, and bolsters a heavy shot from the point. 

An offer from Philadelphia that might make such a trade more feasible is one that consists of Flyers’ winger Travis Konecny (who the Wild are rumored to be quite fond of). While trading such a beloved player in Konecny would be a hard pill to swallow for most fans, the reality of it is since being labeled a healthy scratch by coach Alain Vigneault this season Konecky’s commitment to giving it his all for the team has since diminished. While only playing in just 50 games this season, Konecny managed to score just half of the points that he did last season in 66 games played. In fact, after scoring 3 consecutive years of 24 goals he only managed to score only 11 this season. While most would assume this soon-to-be first-time father will have a bounce back year, if Fletcher were to move this proven NHL scorer in exchange for some much-needed defensive help then the Flyers should ask for a bit more of an incentive in return that could further sweeten the pot to make this deal worthwhile to both teams. The player that should be sitting next to Matt Dumba on the plane to Philadelphia if they agree to a deal is Minnesota’s unsigned 2019 7^th round pick, goaltender Filip Lindberg- who this season was statically the best goaltender in all the NCAA. Yes, even better than Florida’s now famous Spencer Knight! Lindberg was the reason why UMASS won the division one collegiate championship this season and led all goaltenders in the NCAA in goals against, posting a 1.24 GAA, and in save percentage as well with an average of .949. He is just the goaltender Fletcher needs to add to the Flyers’ depth chart; Especially after missing on his 2019 6^th round experiment (and the only goalie he has taken in any draft since taking on the job as the Flyers’ GM) Roddy Ross (whose stats were so bad this season in the WHL that he was recently allowed to walk without even being offered a contract). 

Minnesota has not signed Lindberg yet because they seemingly already have their goaltender of the future in the young Kaapo Kahkonen and have managed to get some quality minutes out of veteran goaltender Cam Talbot this year. 

In the end, this writer thinks that the positives outweigh the negatives if this deal were to go through. The Flyers are desperate for defense and it would surely bring back a player more than capable of playing some big-time minutes next season alongside Ivan Provorov, not to mention it would also bring in a star prospect in-net as well.