Devan Dubnyk has been the surprise player of the year in the NHL. He started the season with the Arizona Coyotes, where he struggled. On January 15th he was sent to the Minnesota Wild, and everything changed for the Wild and Dubnyk. He rattled off 38 straight starts, and the play of Dubnyk has been spectacular. He is the key reason that the Minnesota Wild turned their season around, and made the playoffs.
His statistics are amazing. Dubnyk ranks 2nd in goals against average at 2.04, 2nd in save percentage at .930, 6th in wins with 36, and is tied for 4th in shutouts with 6. Pretty impressive, but even more impressive coming from a goalie that has basically been shunned away by many teams.
Dubnyk started his NHL career in 2009-2010 in Edmonton. He went on to play five seasons with the Oilers before he was moved to the Nashville Predators. Dubynk played one season for Nashville as a back-up to Pekka Rinne. Dubnyk was on a trial basis in Arizona this as he backed up Coyotes starter Mike Smith.
The critical question comes this summer. Dubnyk will become an unrestricted free agent. What will the Minnesota Wild do? Will they pay him, and keep him as their starter. Or, will they stick to their original plan with Darcy Kuemper, or let Dubnyk go elsewhere. Dubnyk currently makes $800,000 per year, and will undoubtedly be in search of a huge payday.
The question now is what is he worth? Is this years surprise success worth a long term contract somewhere, or are teams looking at his career numbers, and past success? His career numbers are mediocre at best. He has a career save percentage of .914, a 2.68 goals against average, and a record of 97-90-0-26. In his eight NHL seasons he has posted 14 shutouts. Yes, I agree that he has been buried on defensively inept teams, but is this seasons success for real?
So how much is he worth? Is he in the Henrik Lundqvist range of 8.5 million per season, I don’t think so. Is he in the Jimmy Howard range of 5.3 million per season, I still don’t think so. I was thinking more in the Jaroslav Halak price range of 4.5 million. If Minnesota can wrap him up in that four to five million per year range things will be good in Minny. I also think that things would be good for Dubnyk. Going to a less defensive orientated team for more money may be the worst thing for him. Ride the train your riding in Minnesota, and both sides will benefit.
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Brad Burud the owner/editor of the Inside Edge Hockey News. I am a huge fan of hockey, from youth hockey, to junior hockey, and of course professional hockey. I have played, coached, worked as statistician, and watched hockey all of my life. Hockey is not just a game, it is a lifestyle and family. The game of hockey is great! It can bring you nights of great enjoyment. It also brings nights where you feel like your team will never win. I am proud to be a journalist for the greatest game in the world. I have a degree in Business Administration, Psychology from Minot State University. I also have a Hockey General Manager and Scouting, and Sports Communications/Journalism degree from Sports Management Worldwide. I am also a member of the Sports Executives Association. Most of all I am a fan. Hockey is a huge part of my life and my families life.