The Tampa Bay Lightning followed up their Thursday trade [https://thehockeynews.com/gaming/latest-news/nhl-24-trade-attempts-anthony-duclair-to-tampa-bay] with another shrewd move, acquiring Matt Dumba and a seventh round pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2027 fifth round pick. Dumba should be a serviceable replacement for Mikhail Sergachev, who is out for the rest of the season. This marks the second trade of the day for the Coyotes where they traded an established veteran for a late round pick without retaining any salary. A coveted right-handed defenseman, Dumba has 10 points in 58 games this season. Tampa often has success identifying under-the-radar players or players they feel fit their scheme so it will be interesting to see how Dumba is deployed. Dumba to TB The trade was emphatically denied by Arizona in NHL 24 as the fifth round pick simply did not meet their trade block needs. Given the Coyotes' other moves and the response in the simulation it seems that a large part of these deadline deals were about moving off of salary. Based purely on value, NHL 24 Franchise Mode sees this as a win for Tampa. Tampa Bay absorbed Dumba's entire $3.9 million salary.
