TEMPE, Ariz. — Matt Dumba and his girlfriend, Blair, were at a wedding in downtown Minneapolis in mid-July when the Arizona Coyotes’ recruitment hit a, well, weird pitch.
The long-time Wild defenseman knew he’d be playing for a new NHL team in 2023-24 for the first time in his career. He just didn’t know where. There was no cap space available in Minnesota, which he still calls his “second home.” Teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Dallas Stars were sniffing around.
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Dumba’s good friend and former teammate Nick Bjugstad and his wife, Jackie, had been pushing the couple to make the move to Arizona since free agency opened. Bjugstad, a former Gopher and Wild player, signed a two-year deal with the Coyotes on July 1. He was pitching the idea of an exciting young team, a beautiful place to live and the chance for Dumba — nearing age 30 — to increase his value.
Then, after a few beers, the Bjugstads got creative.
“They were putting it on us pretty hard, and Jackie was howling like a Coyote by the end of the night,” Dumba said, laughing. “Everyone was howling for the Desert Dogs.”
“I don’t know if that made the deciding factor,” Bjugstad said. “But I’d like to think I played a part in it.”
It worked, eventually, with Dumba signing a one-year, $3.9 million deal with the Coyotes on Aug. 6.
It hasn’t taken long for Dumba to become for Arizona what he was previously for the Wild: a top-four defenseman, key penalty killer and minutes-eater, averaging 21 minutes, 30 seconds, of ice time per game. He’s also been a heartbeat in the room, bringing energy and a needed voice in a younger group.
With the Wild’s struggles defensively and on the PK to start the season — their depth tested with the injury to captain Jared Spurgeon — it’s hard not to think about the void Dumba left. They might miss him more than fans realized when he left.
“He’s such a fun-loving, easy-going guy,” said fellow Coyotes defenseman Juuso Valimaki. “He brings that positive energy, brings some laughs. He’s not afraid to open his mouth in a negative sense if the team needs it. If you lose a game that you shouldn’t, he’s usually the guy that says something during or after the game. He’s got some wise words. It’s in his DNA.”
Wild teammates have lauded Dumba’s presence and personality, the impact he had with the core group.
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“He can definitely take over a room,” captain Jared Spurgeon said.
“It’s tough to see him go,” said good friend Ryan Hartman.
Why the @mnwild – and their fans – will miss Matt Dumba: 7 stories, from pranks to hammers to “heartbeat.”
I spoke with a bunch of Dumba’s teammates and coaches for their favorite on and off ice moments. A glimpse into what @ArizonaCoyotes are getting https://t.co/BaDk9vvBCc
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) August 7, 2023
Dumba had his last hurrah as a member of the Wild over the summer, spending it at his Eden Prairie home, hanging with the boys. There were a number of golf rounds with Matt Boldy, Marcus Johansson and Hartman at Olympic Hills. Guys would come over to his place and go on the boat. Dumba and best friend Jonas Brodin, who have been together since their Hotel Ivy days as young players, no doubt continued their chess and card battles.
“How’s Jimmy?” Dumba asked, referring to the nickname he gave Brodin.
And, of course, there was Hartman’s wedding in early August. Dumba, a groomsman, stole the show during photos. They were asked to do something fun, and Dumba took it to another level in tackling Hartman.
“I didn’t want to hit him too hard,” Dumba said, smiling. “He stood up for it. Good for him. He’s strong. But we had to get something different for the photos.”
The wedding afterparty was at Dumba’s home, and people stayed until around 6 a.m. The summer provided a great way to stay connected with his Wild teammates and friends, and he plans to live here in the offseasons to come.
“Just because I’m on a different team doesn’t mean some of those guys aren’t my good friends,” Dumba said. “I saw a lot of those guys through the summer. We had the boys over to come chill in the backyard — go on the boat.
“Just the Minnesota way.”
Though Arizona is a “new” home, team-wise, Dumba has owned a home in the Scottsdale area since during the pandemic, when he’d have training sessions out there. It’s made for a relatively easy transition for Dumba, Blair and their four dogs.
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“It’s pretty easy to them. They’re outside all the time,” Dumba said. “There’s no mucky season where you go to wipe them off every time they come in. It’s f—ing awesome.”
Dumba had a great opportunity to quickly bond with his teammates on their trip to Australia for the preseason Global Series games (two against the Kings) in September. As if the card games and laughs on the 15-hour flight to Melbourne weren’t enough, the group got to enjoy an outing at an Australian Football League game.
“There were like 100,000 people there,” Dumba said. “It was insane. Never saw anything like that. It reminded me of some Harry Potter (stuff). Like a Quidditch world cup. A crazy atmosphere.”
Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong had targeted Dumba from the first day of free agency, July 1. He wanted to bolster his blue line (Sean Durzi joined the group in a trade from the Kings in late August). The free agency adds of former Leaf Alex Kerfoot and Jason Zucker, along with Bjugstad, provided some validation, along with the signing of top prospect Logan Cooley.
Matt Dumba and Logan Cooley defend the Ducks’ Mason McTavish. (Gary A. Vasquez / USA Today)But Armstrong had to play the waiting game with Dumba, with the two going separate ways after July 1 but agreeing to follow up.
“We stayed in touch,” Armstrong said. “It was like, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ ‘Hey, if we get to here…’ My wife would listen to our conversations and be like, ‘There’s no way you’re getting that done.’
“I said, ‘We’re getting it done.’”
Dumba said he’s been “refreshed” by the change after 598 career games in Minnesota. It’s not only a chance to make an impact on a new team and offer advice to young stars like Cooley, but also to have a new fan base form its own perception of him and his game.
“I just mean a change of scenery — a lot goes into it,” Dumba said. “Once you settle in, you’ve got a lot of good guys here. Guys who want to work hard and learn. The coaching staff does a great job of being detailed and knowing exactly how we want to play. Just keeping everyone on the same page, it’s been fun.
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“Helping a team that’s right on the cusp of breaking through, to be part of something special like that would be awesome. I’m just trying to do my part.”
Dumba’s much-anticipated return to Xcel Energy Center will be on Jan. 13, when the Coyotes travel to face the Wild. Arizona will host Minnesota on Valentine’s Day. Dumba said there will be tee times waiting for his former teammates on the off day.
“I’ll be sticking it to those guys when they come through,” Dumba joked. “Boldy and Hartsy are going to get it. JoJo too.”
Dumba is still relatively young and on a one-year contract, so who knows where he’ll be after this year’s trade deadline (depending on how Arizona does) or next summer. Could Dumba envision a scenario in which he returns to play for the Wild?
“I don’t know,” Dumba said. “When we get to that point, we’ll evaluate it. As of now, I’m locked in here to being with the Yotes. We’ve got a good thing going. I want to put everything and invest my energy into that. That’s where my focus is.”
(Top photo courtesy of the Coyotes)
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