Pittsburgh Penguins making trade offers including RHD

The Pittsburgh Penguins are moving on from right-handed defenceman Matt Dumba. The veteran blueliner is currently buried in the minors and throughout his 15 games at the AHL level, there's been a ton of criticism that he's not even trying, and isn't giving his full effort as he has no desire to be playing AHL hockey.

The Penguins need to jettison Matt Dumba as soon as possible. He looks as if he’s actively not trying at the AHL level. On the ice for every goal against last night. Just in total disarray and not even skating hard.
— Jesse Marshall (@jmarshfof) January 25, 2026

Dumba's a pending free agent who is on the NHL books for $3.7 million. At 31 years old, Dumba feels he still has lots left in the tank and shouldn't be buried in the minors at this time. In 15 AHL games he's chipped in with five points, and meanwhile at the NHL level, Dumba's appeared in 11 games, recording three points.

Dumba joined the Penguins just this season, so it's been a very big surprise to see how Kyle Dubas and company have used him. Last season with the Dallas Stars, the veteran d-man recorded 10 points in 63 games and played a decent role killing penalties.

I cannot express how poorly Matt Dumba has been. Is Wheeling an option? Can they trade him for a 2036 7th round pick? He’s been bad. Randoms come up to me and agree that he just doesn’t give a crap. Awful.
— Jason Iacona (@nafsnep) January 22, 2026

It's only a matter of time before Dumba is moved as there's no chance the Penguins keep him past the trade deadline. Pittsburgh has plenty of depth on defence, and are looking for some more young forwards to continue to build their future around, while also trying to upgrade this season's roster to give Crosby, Malkin and Letang, and the rest of the team another chance to win a Stanley Cup.

For now, trade talks continue in Pittsburgh, and don't be surprised to see Dumba involved at some point.