The Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Matt Dumba on unconditional waivers Thursday afternoon for the purposes of a contract termination.
Should he go unclaimed by the NHL’s other 31 teams by 2 p.m. on Friday, he will be free to sign elsewhere.
Dumba, 31, has been assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League since Dec. 13 after clearing regular waivers.
He has not played for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since March 4, having been excused from the team to attend to a personal matter.
The Penguins acquired Dumba in a trade with the Dallas Stars on July 10. The transaction was essentially a salary dump for the Stars, who needed relief to manage their salary cap figures. The Penguins also received a second-round draft pick in 2028 in the deal while sending reserve defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok to Dallas.
Dumba opened the season on the NHL roster and appeared in 11 games, recording three points (one goal, two assists) and averaging 14 minutes, 56 seconds of ice time, predominantly on the third pairing.
A healthy scratch for 18 of the team’s first 29 games, Dumba was placed on waivers in mid-December to clear roster space for the Penguins to add defenseman Brett Kulak and goaltender Stuart Skinner when they were acquired in a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 12.
With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Dumba played in 27 games and scored 20 points (six goals, 14 assists).
A right-handed shot, Dumba is in the final year two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3.75 million. While he is assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, $1.15 million of his cap hit is excused from the Penguins’ books per league rules.
Per Puckpedia, Dumba will not miss out on any pay as the NHL’s regular season is scheduled to come to an end Thursday. All base salaries in the NHL are issued over the course of the regular season.