Toronto Maple Leafs: Matt Dumba Signs for Less than John Klingberg

The Toronto Maple Leafs have missed out on a cheap way to improve their blue-line.

Matt Duma has signed with the Arizona Coyotes, and worse, he signed for less than the Toronto Maple Leafs gave John Klingberg. 

To be clear, neither player is worth the money they are getting, but Dumba would have been a much better fit. 

He signed for $3.9. million and one-year with the Coyotes.

The Leafs gave Klingberg $4.150.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Miss Out on Dumba

When the season starts, John Klingberg will have just turned 31, whereas Dumba just turned 29.

Both players have fallen from being star players a few years ago, and both are at an age where they likely are what they are – which is not very good.

However, Dumba at least has some defensive ability to go along with his offense, and he can hit.

You can’t say the same about Klingberg.

Last year, after the trade deadline, they were on the same team and Minnesota played Dumba 19 minutes per game 5v5 and they played Klingberg 15 (11 in the playoffs).

Dumba – whose numbers were not that good by any stretch of the imagination – was the #1 on his team, and Klingberg was the #6.

One he joined the Wild, Klingberg won his minutes in a small sample size, but he shouldn’t have – his Expected Goals Rating was 43%, which is horrendous. (naturalstattrick.com).

Dumba’s for the year was 48%, which is still bad, but better, and he played way tougher minutes.

Both players fail to be worth their contracts, but given he is two years younger and is coming off a season in which he was his team’s most relied upon defenseman, Dumba is a much better bet to improve.

Klingberg was the worst defensive player on the worst defensive team of the Salary Cap Era and he joins a team that is awash in puck-moving defenseman but has almost no one who can defend or hit.

I think it’s beyond clear that Dumba would have been a much better addition to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the fact that he’s cheaper only makes that more obvious.

Additionally, Dumba is one of the coolest guys in the NHL. He’s outspoken and intelligent. He’s a great addition to any dressing room, but especially one that just added Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi.

Its not like Dumba would have made the Leafs significantly better, but it’s just embarrassing that the last time these guys played hockey, they played for the same team and the one the Leafs made into the higher paid player played for 17 minutes a night, while the other one, who is younger and better and a much better fit for the team, played 23.