The Pittsburgh Penguins made a seemingly small move today, with the Dallas Stars. The Pens have acquired Mathew Dumba in a trade with the team from the state of Texas. Going the other way is one Vladislav Kolyachonok. Also, the Stars threw in a second round draft pick in 2028. Let’s breakdown the deal.
TRADE ALERT
We have acquired Vladislav Kolyachonok from the @penguins for Matt Dumba and a 2028 second-round pick.@shift4 | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/3p2bXemaMQ
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 10, 2025
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The Pens Land Matt Dumba in Trade With Stars
There are some questions surrounding the Penguins potentially trying for a tank job in 2025-26. The reason? To land big name prospect Gavin McKenna of course. But bringing in a veteran competitor like Dumba seems a bit contrary to that idea. Dumba can battle and be an asset to a team in high-pressure games. Conversely, he never did lace them up in the postseason for Dallas in 2024-25. At a salary of $3.75M, that really is unacceptable he couldn’t convince the coaching staff to put him in.
Dumba, who turns 31 in a couple weeks, is still a competitor at the NHL level. He will provide some depth for the Pens top-six defensive alignment. In 2024-25, he played 63 games scoring once and adding nine assists for ten points. His 15:18 of average ice time was the least amount of average ice time since his rookie season.
Moreover, it really feels like Pittsburgh is planning something different or setting something up with this move. Not to start any rumours, but perhaps this means something on the Erik Karlsson situation. It has been thought he is available, but his lofty salary could be making things difficult. In any case, it is curious move by general manager Kyle Dubas and crew.
The Trade from the Stars Angle
Moving on to the Dallas perspective, and it is a bit less curious. The Matt Dumba trade did make sense, as he didn’t get ice time in the playoffs and we already mentioned his salary. In that sense, it was a great move to help trim the loose ends in building a cup contender.
As for their acquisition, Vladislav Kolyachonok is a 24-year-old Belarussian. He was originally a Florida Panthers draft pick, 52nd overall in 2019. In addition, he played for Minsk Dynamo as a 19-year-old after having played junior in North America. He returned to North America for the end of the 2020-21 campaign, where he’s been ever since. Moreover, he’s been up-and-down between the AHL and the NHL in that time. He’s played 74 games, recording four goals and ten assists all told in the show. He can be seen more of a depth move, but with the motivation to push those above him on the team’s depth chart. In any case, it is a savvy and underrated move by Dallas.
Main Photo Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
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