Salary cap issues are going to force the Minnesota Wild to move a core piece of their team

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Matt Garland
June 18, 2022 (3:05 PM)

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Minnesota Wild Defenceman Matt Dumba is no stranger to having his name in the rumor mill. Multiple insiders reported that GM Bill Guerin was listening to offers for him this season. It doesn't appear like things have changed much since seasons end. Insiders expect to hear his name on the market this summer.

The Wild have a cap crunch to navigate. With the dead cap hits of both Ryan Sutter and Zach Parise the team will be forced to operate $12,743,588 below the salary cap ceiling. Minnesota have a little over $7,000,000 available in cap space. They will need to make decisions on pending RFAs Kevin Fiala, Jacob Middleton, Connor Dewar. Their UFAs are Nick Bjugstad, Nicolas Deslauriers, Jordie Benn and three time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury.

Many don't expect Fleury back with the Wild's cap situation and veteran goalie Cam Talbot signed for one more season at a cap hit of $3,666,667. Talbot showed management he can hold down the starter role with a 32-12-4 record.

The 7th pick in 2012 is on the Wild's books for $6,000,000 and will be a UFA next Summer. Any potential team trading for him will want to talk extension beforehand especially if they will be giving up significant assets. Dumba played in 57 games, missing the other 25 due to injuries and an illness. He still scored seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points which was the third-highest point total of his career. He was second on Minnesota's blueline in ice time with 23:05.

Dumba is a proven top four defenceman in the NHL. He can put up points, solid defensively and loves to lay the body. He recorded 114 hits and blocked 84 shots this season. The UFA market for impact defenceman isn't the deepest and Dumba's cap hit is lower than what players like Kris Letang and John Klingberg are going to get. This may be the Summer for Guerin to maximize his trade value most.