serp
Registered User
- Jan 17, 2016
- 21,141
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Matt Dumba's continued awfulness
- Thread starter serp
- Start date
Chuck Norris Trophy
Registered User
- Jan 22, 2015
- 2,996
- 3,258
I was just thinking about this same thing, seriously, what happened to him? He surely used to be better than this and he should be in his prime now.
Vasilevskiy
The cat will be back
biturbo19
Registered User
- Jul 13, 2010
- 27,735
- 12,910
The truth is...he was never really any good at all. He's also a pretty toolsy playing falling off in his play with age and injuries accordingly, which just compounds the problem. I don't think it's a big mystery.
HockeyVirus
16/34/88/91/44 - Pathetic losers
- Nov 15, 2020
- 21,496
- 32,690
That’s just not true at all. Before he tore his pec he was a massive part of one the best defensive corps in the league.
Dumba was turning into a legit top pair offensive dman when he tore his pectoral in a fight with tkachuk. He was never the same after that. His defensive game did continue to get better and even in his last games with the Wild he was at times the best player on the ice. I really believe not being signed in MN broke him and now he’s just going through the motions
The Gr8 Dane
L'harceleur
MCR74
Registered User
- Nov 11, 2022
- 4,240
- 5,137
Don't fret. Maybe Kyle Dubas will come calling. He loves washed up defesemen.
In Tampa he simply couldn’t defend anyone away from the puck. Tons to love about him like his fighting, bomb of a shot, good skating; but all secondary because he didn’t stick lift, positionally defend, or box anyone out.
Oh and he was good for at least one egregious mistake every game that ended in our net
Oh and he was good for at least one egregious mistake every game that ended in our net
Elysian
Emo Stars Fan
We all knew, not sure what the hell Nill was thinking
Kcb12345
Registered User
- Jun 6, 2017
- 32,081
- 25,517
Just picture the worst defender in the NHL, and then go a level below that and there's Matt Dumba
The fact that they signed him to be Heiskanen's partner is hilarious. Poor guy will never get a legit RHD partner
The fact that they signed him to be Heiskanen's partner is hilarious. Poor guy will never get a legit RHD partner
- Oct 23, 2014
- 30,398
- 43,124
The wheels might've fallen completely off, but was he ever that good?
It's an understatemen to say I was never impressed by him or ever saw him as an impactful Top4 defenseman in the 'Show. Always seemed like a guy who was just good enough to eat the minutes he played but was also just kinda hanging on in said minutes for the most part.
He had a booming shot and some nice physicality but overall play and hockey sense were lacking, for sure. He never got a single Norris vote and the Minnesota teams he logged a lot of minutes on never went anywhere or did anything, and he probably bears some responsibiliy in that regard.
He might be completely washed now but he was never anything special.
It's an understatemen to say I was never impressed by him or ever saw him as an impactful Top4 defenseman in the 'Show. Always seemed like a guy who was just good enough to eat the minutes he played but was also just kinda hanging on in said minutes for the most part.
He had a booming shot and some nice physicality but overall play and hockey sense were lacking, for sure. He never got a single Norris vote and the Minnesota teams he logged a lot of minutes on never went anywhere or did anything, and he probably bears some responsibiliy in that regard.
He might be completely washed now but he was never anything special.
serp
Registered User
- Jan 17, 2016
- 21,141
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I knew he would be bad but didn't think it would be "Yeah calling up Petro to play just to get Dumba out of the lineup is the correct move" bad. Like Petro isn't good at all. He just knows and plays within his limits and thats much much better than what Dumba has been offering.
BKarchitect
Registered User
Dumba was legit good, if always a bit flawed. Lots of tools, not always put together in the most efficient manner on the ice.
Seems like a really good dude, his work with hockey diversity and his frankness about some of his experiences channeled into making positive changes always struck me as very authentic.
Does seem his NHL journey is coming to a premature end though, he’s pretty much unplayable on many nights.
Seems like a really good dude, his work with hockey diversity and his frankness about some of his experiences channeled into making positive changes always struck me as very authentic.
Does seem his NHL journey is coming to a premature end though, he’s pretty much unplayable on many nights.
The Nuge
Some say…
Considering last year, at the deadline, he went for less than Nikita Okhotiuk, Colin Miller, Erik Johnson, Chad Ruhwedel, Troy Stecher, Joel Edmundson, etc, it shouldn’t come as much surprise that he’s useless
JiricekSaveUs
Danila Yurov Fan Club Executive Assistant
- May 2, 2018
- 19,332
- 12,290
Honestly pretty sad to see as someone who has long loved Dumba. Let’s timeline this out to truly see the decline.
Coming into the league at 20 years old, he’s was a very toolsy player. Great skater, good compete, saw the ice well offensively and he had a howitzer if a shot. He really struggled defensively initially, but would later develop into somewhat of a strength, at least relatively.
After a few good years of steady improvement, at age 23 with multiple 10+ goal seasons under his belt, he had a 50 point season and looked like he was in his way to being one of the best defensmen in the league for the foreseeable future.
In his age 24 season, he took another step. He was by far the most dynamic player in the team and was on pace for 30 goals and 60 plus points when the he got in a fight with Matt Tkachuk and tore his pec. He was out for the rest of the season and had tons of complications with the healing process after the fact. When he came back the next season, while his shot was still hard it was nowhere near the weapon it was previously. He couldn’t get on the score sheet to save his life and it looked like his playmaking had completely cratered. It was just a frustrating season overall.
The next season, the offense did not come back, but he settled into more of a defensive role and no longer took the risks that he used to that would lead to offense. He even stopped playing in the powerplay. The Wild wanted him to use his great skating and physicality to create a defensive pair with Jonas Brodin that was extremely hard to score on. And, in that role, he was pretty successful. He would play this role for a few seasons before moving on last season.
In the last couple of years, he’s tried to continue playing solid defensive hockey, but without Jonas Brodin I think some of the deficiencies in his defending have really creeped up. You still see the physicality, but he puts himself in bad positions a lot, at least in my limited viewings of him the last year and a half. Additionally, while I think his skating is still fine, it’s no longer a true asset like when he came into the league. The technique is still top notch but the explosiveness isn’t what it used to be.
Add in I’m sure some confidence issues from his rapid decline to all the things I mentioned before, and I think you have a player who is not long for the NHL game. Really is one of the weirder case studies of a player’s career, and one that is sad to see. One of the better people in the game. I’ve had conversations with him many times. Down to earth dude who has great morals and really wants to do good things for his community.
Coming into the league at 20 years old, he’s was a very toolsy player. Great skater, good compete, saw the ice well offensively and he had a howitzer if a shot. He really struggled defensively initially, but would later develop into somewhat of a strength, at least relatively.
After a few good years of steady improvement, at age 23 with multiple 10+ goal seasons under his belt, he had a 50 point season and looked like he was in his way to being one of the best defensmen in the league for the foreseeable future.
In his age 24 season, he took another step. He was by far the most dynamic player in the team and was on pace for 30 goals and 60 plus points when the he got in a fight with Matt Tkachuk and tore his pec. He was out for the rest of the season and had tons of complications with the healing process after the fact. When he came back the next season, while his shot was still hard it was nowhere near the weapon it was previously. He couldn’t get on the score sheet to save his life and it looked like his playmaking had completely cratered. It was just a frustrating season overall.
The next season, the offense did not come back, but he settled into more of a defensive role and no longer took the risks that he used to that would lead to offense. He even stopped playing in the powerplay. The Wild wanted him to use his great skating and physicality to create a defensive pair with Jonas Brodin that was extremely hard to score on. And, in that role, he was pretty successful. He would play this role for a few seasons before moving on last season.
In the last couple of years, he’s tried to continue playing solid defensive hockey, but without Jonas Brodin I think some of the deficiencies in his defending have really creeped up. You still see the physicality, but he puts himself in bad positions a lot, at least in my limited viewings of him the last year and a half. Additionally, while I think his skating is still fine, it’s no longer a true asset like when he came into the league. The technique is still top notch but the explosiveness isn’t what it used to be.
Add in I’m sure some confidence issues from his rapid decline to all the things I mentioned before, and I think you have a player who is not long for the NHL game. Really is one of the weirder case studies of a player’s career, and one that is sad to see. One of the better people in the game. I’ve had conversations with him many times. Down to earth dude who has great morals and really wants to do good things for his community.
serp
Registered User
- Jan 17, 2016
- 21,141
- 13,120
What i don't get is how he still got 2x3.75M ? If he was paid like the other veteran defenseman we're healthy scratching Brendan Smith it wouldn't really matter.
benfranklin
Registered User
- Jun 29, 2024
- 1,186
- 1,091
Its what happens when Dmen focus on offense only and arent good at their actual position. May put up a ton of points here or there but eventually will be exposed.
He fought Matthew Tkachuk, he threw a wild punch and ruptured his pectoral muscle. He was never the same after teh injury, his shot wasn't as good, and I believe he lost a lot of confidence.
Pre-Injury
Post-Injury
starsfan86
Registered User
- Sep 27, 2006
- 5,770
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