Dumba making mark for Wild

CHICAGO -- Matt Dumba is hoping to prove he's underpaid.

The 24-year-old defenseman is more than happy with the five-year, $30 million contract (average annual value $6 million) he signed with the Minnesota Wild on July 21, but he's determined to show the investment was worth it.
"Throughout this deal, I want it to be a bargain, you know?" Dumba said with a laugh. "I want to show it could have been more."
RELATED: [Red Wings having fun again | Blackhawks, Kings trying to adjust to in-season coaching changes]
The Wild are getting their money's worth in the first year of the contract. Dumba, in his sixth season with the Wild, is second in goals among NHL defensemen with eight, one behind Morgan Rielly of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and is tied for seventh with seven power-play points. He is tied for 12th among defensemen with 13 points.
Dumba has helped the Wild to a 12-7-2 record, which has them in second place in the Central Division, three points behind the Nashville Predators, heading into their game against the Ottawa Senators at Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; SN360, FS-N, RDS2, NHL.TV).
"His shot has been a lot more accurate," Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I don't know what the actual numbers are; I bet his shooting on net is the same as it's been in the past. But he's hitting the net. And he has such a good shot that when he hits the net, a lot of them go in."

Dumba scored 14 goals on 176 shots last season, for a shooting percentage of 8.0 percent. He has his eight goals on 67 shots this season, for shooting percentage of 11.9 percent, which leads the Wild and is ranked 10th in the NHL among defensemen who have played at least 10 games. Dumba has at least five shots on goal in five games, including a season-high seven in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
"It's kind of a mixture of the forwards trusting that the defensemen are going to get the shots through and trusting to move it back to the point and just hitting the net," Dumba said. "Yeah, it kind of sounds fairly simple, but it's been hitting the net and getting some bounces."
Dumba is on a season-high four-game point streak (three goals, two assists) after getting an assist on forward Zach Parise's power-play goal against the Blackhawks.
"An offensive defenseman. You look around the League, there aren't a ton of them who can do what he can. They're game changers," Wild backup goalie Alex Stalock said. "He's starting to realize he can be a game changer in this League. Kudos to him."
Parise said Dumba's game has "swagger."
"He shoots the puck so hard and he's got that rare ability to beat goalies clean," Parise said. "He's always in the play and jumping up in the offense, helping us forwards create. He's done a good job of finding holes on the ice and getting his shots through."

Dumba wants to hone his all-around game, citing Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, the 2016 Norris Trophy winner, as an example of what he'd like to be.
"It's all aspects, you know?" Dumba said. "He's covered it all. That's where I want to take my game."
There are still tough days; Sunday was one. Dumba got turned around against Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad, who scored the game-winning goal at 17:29 of the first period. His deflected pass led to Blackhawks forward Dominik Kahun's empty-net goal at 19:01 of the third. Boudreau said he would re-evaluate the defensive pair of Dumba and Ryan Suter, who have struggled in recent games.
But overall Dumba has been good this season, especially with offensive production.
"You can just tell by the way he's handling the puck and making plays that he's feeling good about the way he's playing," Parise said. "And as a group, we're all benefitting."