Only a short year ago, Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill signed Matt Dumba to a two-year deal worth over $3 million per season in the hopes that Dumba could recapture what made him a great player in Minnesota.

Now, Nill has shipped Dumba to Pittsburgh along with a valuable 2028 second round pick in exchange for Belarusian defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok.

Needless to say, the Dumba experiment with Dallas did not work, and it cost Nill a second round pick for his troubles. Dumba's contract simply had to come off the books to make everything work with the upcoming season's salary cap, and the team elected not to use the buyout window, which would have put stress on their cap situation for next season.

The silver lining in it all is the arrival of Kolyachonok, a left side defenseman that played exclusively in the NHL last season with both Utah and Pittsburgh. A second round pick in 2019 by the Panthers, Kolyachonok is on a two-way contract only worth $775,000. That is a steal for another NHL-caliber defenseman, and quite frankly Dallas needed another player who could potentially play in the AHL but be relied upon when needed as a call-up. If Alexander Petrovic ends up making the NHL roster, there really are not many more options behind him.

The Stars opted not to use Dumba over Petrovic (or anyone else) for the entire postseason, essentially cementing his place on the outside looking in. His performance during the regular season was not enough to earn him a spot in the playoffs. It just did not seem like there could be a future for Dumba with Dallas.

Now, his cap hit is moved on, no retention or buyout needed, and the Stars can move on with plans for players who the team wants to be here for the upcoming season as they try to get over the hump and win a Stanley Cup.

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