Lightning pad blue line, trade for Coyotes’ Matt Dumba
The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired defenseman Matt Dumba from the Arizona Coyotes ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline to address an injury-depleted blue line.
The Lightning sent a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Coyotes for Dumba and a 2025 seventh-round pick.
Dumba, 29, will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. His contract carries a $3.9 million cap hit, and the Coyotes did not retain any salary.
He had been held out of Thursday’s game against the Minnesota Wild for trade-related reasons.
The right-side defenseman has played 58 games in Arizona this season after signing there last summer, skating just over 20 minutes per game. While his offense has trended down in recent years, he still shoots the puck with frequency.
The Lightning were seeking to bolster their defense corps after losing Mikhail Sergachev for the rest of the regular season when he underwent surgery to fix fractures to his left tibia and fibula.