It is pretty clear Brian Dumoulin isn’t up to the task anymore. He has lost whatever foot speed he had and it has stripped him of the ability to do the things he was previously very good at. Regardless of the quality time he has put in the team has to do the right thing and minimize his impact on the on-ice product. Teams cannot grow attached to mid-tier players on the decline regardless of their past contributions.
I bring the obvious up because we are getting closer to the trade deadline and speculation about trades will pick up. We have some early speculation courtesy of Elliotte Friedman and his 32 Thoughts podcast I think it is adjacent to the Brian Dumoulin situation.
I think this is a really interesting name. Jake McCabe is one of those under the radar really solid defenseman, not unlike Brian Dumoulin. The big difference is McCabe is still producing at a high level and his offensive contributions have a higher ceiling. Here is what McCabe looks like
Now that there looks like a really decent option to place next to Kris Letang.
If we are to believe Elliotte’s speculation, let’s have some of our own. Is there a path to get McCabe to Pittsburgh? Should the Penguins actually want a path for him to Pittsburgh?
I think the answer is maybe to the path and yes to the should part. McCabe’s contract is a 4M cap hit for the remainder of this year and two more. The contract should be a non-issue. The cost to acquire? It probably isn’t as steep as what his actual value is. It sounds like the Blackhawks are trying to do right by the player and get him into a situation where he can potentially win now. You can make the argument that perhaps the Penguins aren’t the team that best fits the bill, but they are far from where the Blackhawks currently are. Is a second round pick enough? It might be. I’d offer it.
The Blackhawks are likely a team who would be willing to take on Brian Dumoulin’s contract and give him a roster spot. They are clearly in tanking mode and with how Dumoulin is playing this year he wouldn’t harm their intentions on that front. This also wouldn’t be the first time the Penguins have shipped off a poorly performing defender to Chicago for an upgrade.
Mike Sullivan might be attached to Dumoulin, but the Fenway Sports Group and Ron Hextall weren’t around during his best days. It would be ridiculous to play games over the summer with Malkin and then be super committed to a washed mid-tier player like Dumoulin.
I think you would be hard pressed to find people who didn’t value Dumoulin’s contributions in the past for the Penguins. I think you would also be hard pressed to find people who think his current level of play is helping the team. Jake McCabe looks like an opportunity to get “Brian Dumoulin” back into the Penguins lineup and perhaps with a higher ceiling than Dumoulin ever had.
For a team with limited trading options, this seems like an opportunity worth looking into.
Thanks for reading!
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