According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ pursuit of a right-handed defenseman has them looking at Mathew Dumba.
It’s not a secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to upgrade their defense. They’re looking to do it not just in the short-term, but also the long-term. The Leafs have just four defensemen under contract for next season. Only one of them (Justin Holl) plays on the right side. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Leafs have expressed interest in Minnesota Wild defenseman Mathew Dumba.
This report comes from Elliotte Friedman in his latest 31 Thoughts column. He’s reporting that the Leafs are definitely active in the trade market and Dumba is just one of the defensemen they’ve looked at.
Dumba would make sense for the Maple Leafs for several reasons. First of all, he’s right-handed. That’s important because, as I mentioned earlier, Holl is their only right-handed defenseman under contract for next season. Even if the Leafs re-sign Jake Muzzin, they’ll need some more right-handed defenseman. Dumba would obviously be a fit because of that.
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Secondly, he would solve their issues on the right side both short-term and long-term. This season, he’d give them a true top-pairing caliber defenseman. Dumba could help turn the Maple Leafs into Stanley Cup contenders this season, especially if Morgan Rielly can come back fully healthy.
Long-term, Dumba would give them a cost-controlled top-pairing option on the right side. His cap hit is quite reasonable at $6 million. Dumba’s contract goes through the end of the 2022-23 season.
Though he’s having a down year this season, he has been very productive in the past. This season, Dumba has three goals and 16 points in 50 games. However, he had 22 points last season in 32 games. Dumba has 106 points in his last 190 games over the past three seasons.
The Leafs probably have what it takes to get Dumba away from the Wild, especially if they’re selling low on him. Though they don’t have their first-round pick this year (they traded away in the Patrick Marleau cap dump deal), the Leafs have Kasperi Kapanen. He’s someone the Wild might be very interested in. A deal revolving around Kapanen, and a high draft pick might be enough to get things done.