Mathew Dumba is now on injured reserve for the Dallas Stars, and forward Matej Blumel has been called up from the AHL.
Dumba’s lower-body injury, which was initially described as week-to-week, has kept him out of Dallas’ last two games. With this IR move, he will miss at least another week but won’t need surgery. This summer, Dumba inked a two-year deal worth $7.5 million with Dallas. Unfortunately, he got hurt just six minutes into his second game with them after playing one full match where he logged two penalties and two blocks.
Dumba’s journey through teams has been quite a whirlwind lately. In just the past couple of years, he’s played for four different squads: Minnesota to Arizona on a short-term deal in 2023, then traded to Tampa Bay before landing in Dallas. Last season wasn’t great; he only scored 12 points over 76 games—a career low compared to his previous low of 14 points back in Minnesota days.
Challenges and Opportunities
Dallas seemed like a fresh start for Dumba to regain some magic from his standout 2017-18 season when he hit 50 points. But now he’s facing this injury setback first . During his debut with the Stars, he was on ice for about 18 minutes and change before getting sidelined again.
Fans might feel that Dumba’s luck needs to turn around soon if he’s going to make an impact here.
In his absence, Nils Lundkvist and Ilya Lyubushkin have been sharing the defensive duties. Meanwhile, Blumel could get another shot at proving himself in the NHL after showing promise in previous AHL seasons—last year alone netting him top spots among Texas Stars players with goals and total points.
As injuries nag Tyler Seguin and Sam Steel day-to-day too, Blumel may find himself filling crucial roles despite being pegged as bottom-six depth right now.
What do you think? Can these changes help or hinder the team?
