Stars trade veteran defenseman, second-round pick to Penguins

Finishing the deal will make the Stars cap-compliant for the 2025-26 season. Even when Dallas has Kolyachonok on its opening night time roster, he prices the league minimal $775K in opposition to the cap.

That’s $2.975M lower than Dumba’s $3.75M cap hit, since Pittsburgh takes on the totality of his wage with no retention on Dallas’ half. That financial savings places Dallas, which is at present $1.79M above the higher restrict, again underneath the cap.

The Stars signed Dumba to a two-year, $7.5M contract in free company final summer season, considered as a dangerous dedication on the time after the 6-foot-1 righty had simply 12 factors and a -18 score in 76 video games with the Arizona Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning the 12 months prior. The fears across the contract have been shortly realized. Dumba, who turns 31 later this month, had damaging possession impacts in all places he was deployed and was out of the lineup fully by the point the postseason rolled round.

Dumba performed 63 video games for the Stars final season, averaging simply 15:18 per recreation with a 1-9–10 scoring line. He logged a minus-five score in what amounted to his lowest utilization since his rookie marketing campaign and was a wholesome scratch for all 18 playoff video games.

The most effective years of Dumba’s NHL profession got here as a top-pairing piece for the Minnesota Wild, who drafted him No. 7 total in 2012. He remained there via the start of his steep decline within the early 2020s, leaving for Arizona in 2023 in free company on a one-year contract. After failing to re-establish his worth there, he was flipped to the Lightning on the commerce deadline for 2 late-round picks and completed out the 12 months as a bottom-pairing piece in Tampa Bay earlier than signing in Dallas within the offseason.

Dumba’s greatest season got here again in 2017-18 as a 23-year-old, when he completed nineteenth within the league in scoring amongst defensemen with 50 factors in 82 video games and tied for tenth with 14 targets. He additionally had 12 targets and 22 factors in simply 32 video games the next 12 months earlier than an upper-body damage ended his season. His offensive manufacturing by no means recovered, averaging simply 22.4 factors per 82 video games since returning.

It’s unclear if Dumba can have a lot of a job in Pittsburgh’s lineup subsequent season. They’ve three right-shot defenders forward of him on the depth chart in Connor Clifton, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, though Karlsson is well-known commerce bait this summer season. If he stays within the image, although, Dumba might begin the season within the press field — and even on waivers and buried within the minors — until somebody shifts to their offside.

Dumba’s price ticket is exceedingly steep for the No. 6/7/8 defender he’s at this stage of his profession, one Dallas merely couldn’t afford to shoulder with their cap crunch after extending Mikko Rantanen and retaining UFAs Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene. It components with a second-round choose to wipe his deal off the books one 12 months early — a steep worth contemplating the marketplace for cap dumps this summer season, though the Stars do properly in buying a serviceable depth piece in Kolyachonok. They’re now with no choose earlier than the third spherical in 2028.

The Penguins already had a little bit of a crunch amongst depth defensemen after signing Alexander Alexeyev, Caleb Jones and Parker Wotherspoon in free company. It isn’t stunning to see them unwilling to tackle a defenseman with out transferring one out.

They picked up Kolyachonok, a 24-year-old 6-foot-2 lefty with some untapped two-way potential, off waivers from Utah in February final season. He didn’t get into a lot recreation motion, although, recording two assists and a minus-five score in 12 appearances whereas averaging 14:20 per recreation. There wasn’t going to be a lot alternative for him in Pittsburgh with their aforementioned additions and youthful, higher-profile names like Owen Pickering pushing for extra NHL ice time.

Kolyachonok, a second-rounder in 2019, has 14 factors in 74 profession NHL video games with a minus-seven score and 72 hits. He’ll presumably compete with veteran Alexander Petrovic to exit coaching camp as the additional defenseman on the NHL roster.

Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports was first to report the Stars and Penguins have been engaged on a commerce centered round Dumba and Kolyachonok.