Coyotes add veteran defenseman Matt Dumba on 1-year deal

The Arizona Coyotes agreed to terms with 29-year-old defenseman Matt Dumba, the team announced on Monday.

“We are very pleased to have Matt join our organization,” Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said Monday. “He is a talented, reliable, physical defenseman who competes hard every night and will contribute offensively. He is also a great leader who will add a veteran presence to our blue line. We are very excited to have him on our team this season.”

NHL Network’s Elliotte Friedman first reported the news on Sunday. Dumba agreed to a one-year contract worth $3.9 million, PHNX’s Craig Morgan reported.

The defenseman has spent the past decade playing for the Minnesota Wild where he was teammates with fellow Coyotes free agent acquisition Jason Zucker for more than six seasons.

Dumba played 79 games as an alternate captain for the Wild last year and amassed 14 points, his fewest since 2013-14 when he first entered the league and played 13 games. He produced 204 points on 66 goals and 138 assists — 66 on the power play — between 2015-22 as one of the league’s better offensive playmakers from the blue line.

If you want clutch, look no further than Matt Dumba. pic.twitter.com/mhbAbVTIZu

— NHL (@NHL) February 28, 2021

The Saskatchewan native reached a career high with 50 points in 2017-18, playing in all 82 games for the 45-26-11 Wild. He is sixth in franchise history in games played with 598 after getting picked No. 7 overall in 2012.

“I know I still have that offensive ability and can create and put my teammates in good positions to score, but now I also have the defensive part of my game and the template of what I need to do moving forward in my career,” Dumba said in his exit interview with Minnesota media. “I can be reliable, trustworthy, play tight, stingy (defense) and take pride in that.”

He set a career high with 116 blocks last season.

Dumba won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2019-20, the year after Zucker earned the award given to the player who “best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community.”

His Wild teammates voted him the winner of the inaugural Tom Kurvers Humanitarian Award in April.

The Coyotes added former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Sean Durzi in a trade this offseason but made most of their free agent noise with forwards Alex Kerfoot, Nick Bjugstad and Zucker.

Arizona also went defense early in the draft, taking Dmitriy Simashev from Russia with the No. 6 overall pick.

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