Minnesota Wild healthy scratch Matt Dumba for tonight’s game
The Minnesota Wild have announced that defenseman Matt Dumba will be a healthy scratch for tonight’s game versus the Carolina Hurricanes.
Matt Dumba will be a healthy scratch tonight. Hockey decision, not injury. Evason: “We had a real good meeting. He knows why he’s sitting out tonight.”
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There have been many rumours swirling around the hockey world to suggest that Dumba will be on the move soon. The Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers in particular have been linked to him.
Originally a seventh overall selection of the Minnesota Wild in the 2012 NHL Draft, Dumba has played his entire career in Minnesota. He has earned a reputation as a reliable two-way defender. A player who can contribute effectively at both ends of the ice.
This season he has four goals and 12 points in 43 games with a +3 rating. The Wild are a team that is looking to improve their Stanley Cup odds this year, not sell off valuable pieces. However, due to the extremely expensive Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, they likely will not have enough cap space to bring back Dumba for the 2023-24 season.
Dumba is a 28-year-old right-handed defenseman who is on an expiring contract worth $6 million this season. A lot of teams around the league are always on the lookout for right-handed defensemen and they have been calling on Dumba all season.
His career-high in offensive production was the 2017-18 season when he scored 14 goals and 50 points, placing fifth on the Wild in points.
The decision to healthy scratch Dumba while there’s still more than a month to go before the trade deadline means there is likely an imminent trade coming. It will be interesting to see where he ends up and what the trade looks like due to the peculiar nature of this acquisition.
In his career, Dumba has played 562 games with 79 goals and 234 points, all of those with the Minnesota Wild.