Surprising front runners emerge to acquire the best remaining free agent defender

Almost a month into free agency I don't think many people thought former Minnesota Wild defender Matt Dumba would still be a free agent, but he we are two days from the beginning of August and he still hadn't found a new team yet.

According to Remy Mastey of the Hockey News, the Arizona Coyotes are the front runners to land the defender. Which is quite a twist, but nonetheless, it looks to be true; take a look.





Dumba, 29, is a former 7th overall pick who's spent his entire career with the wild. Last season the defender played in 79 games for the Wild recording 14 point including 4 goals and 10 assists.

I'm sure at this point Dumba wants to go anywhere to continue his NHL career, but I'm not sure playing in front of 5,000 fans will get him eager to play the game. On the other hand though, he could go to Arizona on a short term deal, get his value up to where it normally is after a down year last year and cash in next summer.