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Minnesota Wild: Matt Dumba returning for 5 years

By Cody Defoe

ST PAUL, MN - APRIL 15: Matt Dumba #24 of the Minnesota Wild reacts to being called for a roughing penalty against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center on April 15, 2018 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
ST PAUL, MN - APRIL 15: Matt Dumba #24 of the Minnesota Wild reacts to being called for a roughing penalty against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period in Game Three of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Xcel Energy Center on April 15, 2018 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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The Minnesota Wild have officially signed defenseman Matt Dumba to a new contract on Saturday. Narrowly avoiding the arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Monday

Matt Dumba and the Minnesota Wild agreed to a 5-year, $30 million dollar contract (per NHL.com) at an Annual Average Value (AAV) of $6M/Year that will keep the veteran defenseman under agreement with the team until 2023.

The former first round pick cashed in on a fantastic season that saw him step into more of a veteran leader role, and away from the rookie role he had held through most of his first 4 seasons.

Dumba finished with 50 points, including career highs in goals (14) and assists (36) while being the most stable piece on the blueline. Dumba was the only member of the Wild’s defense who didn’t miss a single game in 2017-18.

This deal is huge for the immediate team future of the team, as the Top 5 Defense (including new signee Greg Pateryn) are all now locked up for the next 2 seasons. Hopefully they can convert some consistency into chemistry and form one of the best Defensive lineups in the league.

For the long term, this deal is a little more concerning. Behind Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, Matt Dumba is now the highest paid member of this Minnesota Wild roster (on AAV). Take that into consideration, he is now making more than Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Nino Niederreiter, Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, and Devan Dubnyk.

What this means for the future, is that Minnesota will be in for some tough decisions in 2-3 years when those other players are looking for new contracts. There is only so much cap space to go around, and at this point the window to win is going to start closing quickly.

There are 2 seasons guaranteed to be able to keep this core together and then some difficult decisions will be required. It’s a bold move by GM Fenton to go all-in on Matt Dumba. He has earned a payday and deserves to be locked up long term, but the price to do so is a gamble on the here and now.

Next: Minnesota Wild: Development Camp 2018

With that, the Minnesota Wild only have one more piece left to re-sign this offseason. Jason Zucker’s arbitration hearing is scheduled for next Saturday, but the team have put themselves in a tight cap situation now. Here’s hoping GM Fenton can work out a deal before Saturday and get this roster finalized.

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