Dumba finally off the board, signs a 1-year ''prove it'' deal; missed opportunity for the Leafs?

One of the top defensemen in the free agent class, Dumba wasn't getting as much attention as he deserved after a couple rocky seasons in Minnesota lowered his value.

Dumba has 79 goals and 236 points in 598 games across 10 seasons - all in Minnesota - which included a career-high 14 goals, 36 assists, and 50 points in 82 games during the 2017-18 season. He followed that up with 22 points in 32 games in 2018-19 but fell off a cliff so to speak after that.

Between 2019-20 to 2022-23 he scored 23 goals and 86 points in 256 games. Dumba still possesses offensive abilities but at this point in his career he is better suited as a second pair two-way defender. He has averaged 22:40 TOI since 2017-18 and has 586 hits and 518 blocks to boot.

Signing with the Coyotes serves as a prove-it type deal as he will surely be jettisoned at the trade deadline unless the Coyotes shock the world and become playoff contenders. If he can get his numbers up ahead of the deadline, almost every team will be knocking down their doors to acquire him at half-retained salary.

There was some speculation that Dumba might be a player that the Leafs would have had interest in this summer, which begs the question; did the Leafs miss a huge opportunity by not pursuing a deal for Dumba in free agency? Honestly, he would have been a nice piece, bit with all of the injury considerations there, perhaps it's better that they passed on him and instead pivoted to Klingberg, who appears to be the slightly more durable option at nearly the same price.