This week, we’re talking about the declining play of Brian Dumoulin. Typically a reliable, stay-at-home yin to Kris Letang’s offensive, risk-taking yang, the shutdown defenseman has been in a very noticeable rut. The 30-year-old seems to have lost some of his mobility while making some questionable decisions in his own zone.
Could this be a case of Dumoulin playing through some sort of nagging injury, or is it time to seriously consider benching the veteran and/or explore trade opportunities in the off-season?
It seems even Mike Sullivan, who is very dependent on his veteran players, has taken notice of this, and moved Dumoulin to the second pairing during the last game against the Islanders, with Mike Matheson taking the top spot alongside Letang.