Reports of a potential free agent deal for defenseman Matt Dumba

We're now four days into the NHL's free agent period and it's been near total radio silence concerning former Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.

The 28 year old blueliner has had a few tough seasons with the Wild, but is still a valuable right-shot defenseman capable of putting up points on the powerplay and transitioning play through the neutral zone. And yet... no takers.

Personally, I find it kind of odd that no one has scooped up Dumba on a value deal. When I see the likes of Ian Cole, Shayne Gostisbehere, Marc Staal and Jack Johnson all signing one year deals in free agency, I have to wonder why no one has managed to ink Dumba just yet.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman also seemed a bit perplexed by the lack of action around Dumba when discussing the free agent class on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast for Sportsnet when he proposed a potential fit for the blueliner with the Arizona Coyotes.

From Friedman:

"Matt Dumba has not signed yet, I think this could be where he ends up...Arizona has a spot open and I think he's a player they have interest in."

- Matt Dumba

Personally, if I were an NHL player I'd only be considering the Coyotes as a last option. The team's future is unstable, to say the least, and they have absolutely no chance of competing for a Stanley Cup in the immediate or near future. They're the kind of team that you turn to when you've run out of options... but unfortunately it looks like that might be the case for Dumba.

Dumba, a Regina, SK native, put up just four goals and 14 points in 79 games last season, the worst point total of his NHL career to date. That's a far cry from the 14 goal, 50 point campaign he put up in 2017-18 when he was playing alongside a prime Ryan Suter in Minnesota.

Sure, he's not the player he once was and he may never reach the heights he once did, but I have to imagine that there's a team out there who could use some skill and experience on their right side defense corps. Stay tuned.