Matt Dumba shouldn't be in Arizona

Free agency is almost at it's end this NHL offseason, with the most recent big name to get a new address being Matt Dumba, who will now be a Arizona Coyote. That's a bummer, not only for me, a Wild fan, but I think also for a lot of the teams in the NHL.

During the bubble, during a time of great civil discord in the Twin Cities and the nation at large, Dumba proved himself to be a leader not only for the hockey team, but for the sport. He was given a voice and didn't shrink from the spotlight. At the time, he represented what we all wanted hockey to be.

In  that time, and really ever since, Dumba was clearly on his way out in Minnesota, the victim of a tight cap situation, thanks to the presence of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's albatross contracts, and a need to preserve some of the offensive talent the team had. 

It's not surprising that he left the Wild, as his talent and veteran status meant he was no longer a fit in Minnesota. It is disappointing that he ended up in Arizona. Dumba is a voice from within the game that needed to be heard by players and fans. In Arizona, he'll just be another player that nobody really cares about. Dumba ending up anywhere else was a better outcome. He will be muffled in Arizona

I watch the convoluted cap system of the NBA, or the designated player system in soccer, and wish there was a way to work around the NHL cap like there was in those leagues. If teams could keep their own players for lesser values against the cap that might help. So might not having a team in Glendale any longer.

Dumba, I hope, will be a great veteran peace in an Arizona team that will struggle a lot, before he turns into a trade deadline chip at the end of the year. I also hope that next year, he gets the multi year deal he deserves. For now though, it stinks.

Won't anyone think of Chuck Fletcher?

 For many NHL roles, the best way to get a new job is to have held that job in the past. Look at the front office executives and head coaches that are recycled after previous stints with other teams ended in disaster. 

There seems to be a little bit of new blood every once in a while, and when it happens, it's noteworthy. When general manager Chuck Fletcher was let go by the Flyers, he was replaced by Danny Briere. I remember Briere as a player, which means he is young, or I am getting old. I assume the former. 

Don't worry about Chuck, though. He's through his second NHL GM gig, after some stops as an assistant along the way. He's practically guaranteed himself another opportunity, perhaps with the next role that opens up this summer. Chuck Fletcher will be fine.

One of the jobs that opened up was in Pittsburgh, where Fletcher served as an assistant GM before he moved on to Minnesota. Kyle Dubas, president of the Penguins decided to take on the mantle of General Manager as well. He did that n Toronto, so even though it wasn't a traditional path, at least Chuck Fletcher, and his FletchFans (tm) can rest easy knowing that the job was kept in the "former GM" family. 

That left Edmonton, who is always good for a retread. No matter the situation, the Oilers are going to hire someone who had middling success somewhere else. It's hard to get people to move to Edmonton in the winter, so one might generously think that getting Ken Holland to town, now as the team president, was a coup. Former Wild and Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher seemed right in the Oilers' hiring wheelhouse.

Well, the Oilers hired Jeff Jackson, former agent for Connor McDavid to be their new GM. We're living in a new era, readers. You can't just assume that you will hop to another job when you are dismissed from your previous upper management role. You might just have to take on the role as part of expanded responsibilities, or *gasp* you might just be new blood. 

Sorry, Chuck. The world is changing. It can't last, though. Enjoy running the local arena in New Jersey this winter and come back ready for 2024. The Sabres are probably going to need you before too much longer.