Coyotes' Matt Dumba makes his return to Xcel Energy Center for first game against Wild

While he's been injured, Jonas Brodin usually watches Wild games from the locker room.

But Saturday night, Brodin was up in the press box.

Matt Dumba was playing his first game against the Wild, and Brodin wanted to see his former defensive partner's return to Xcel Energy Center live.

"He's been a big part of the team, on the ice and outside hockey," said Brodin, who's still sidelined because of an upper-body injury. "Everyone loves him. He's just a great human."

After 10 seasons together, Dumba and the Wild split last summer, Dumba a free agent and the Wild in a budget crunch.

Dumba went on to sign a one-year contract with Arizona, officially ending a memorable run in Minnesota that changed Dumba and the team.

"Just everything that this city has given me, I'm grateful for that," Dumba said, "and just everything from my time here and the man it's made me."

The Wild acknowledged Dumba during a break in the first period, reflecting on his tenure with a video tribute.

After the crowd gave him a standing ovation, Dumba was smiling by the Coyotes bench and he was also grinning before puck drop.

"It's very exciting, obviously, just being able to see everyone that you did on a daily basis," Dumba said. "You make so many relationships with a hockey club over a 10-year span, and it's nice to get back here and check in on everyone."

Drafted seventh overall in 2012, Dumba became the Wild's resident offensive defenseman.

He finished with 79 goals and 157 assists for 236 points and ranks top-five in each category for defensemen in team history, while his 598 games are sixth most overall.

Dumba was tested by adversity, such as the torn pectoral muscle that sidelined him when he was on pace for a career year in 2018-19, and just last season he was a healthy scratch. But he overcame those challenges and wrapped up his Wild career playing some of his sharpest hockey as an NHLer.

The Stadium Series game vs. Chicago at TCF Bank Stadium in 2016 and the playoffs are some of the highlights that come to mind for Dumba, who's in a leadership role with up-and-coming Arizona.

"Guys look to you for a little bit of that insight and what it takes," said Dumba, who kept his Eden Prairie home. "It's been really good and a fun change."

But Dumba's legacy isn't all about the games.

The 29-year-old was a fixture in the community, being an ambassador for Athletes Committed to Educating Students and starting the Matt Dumba Hockey Without Limits Camp.

Even on Saturday, he met with winners of an auction the Wild held last year that benefited the Hendrickson Foundation as well as members of Mosaic Hockey Collective, which focuses on empowering players of color with resources to grow the game.

Dumba will be in Toronto for an event during the All-Star Game festivities put on by the Hockey Diversity Alliance, which Dumba helped launch in 2020.

He's also maintaining his hockey camp; Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime are helping with this year's event Feb. 18 in Roseville.

"To be back here, where it all started, is even more special and close to my heart," said Dumba, who was wearing a Mosaic Hockey Collective knit hat before the game.

As for his friendship with Brodin, the two connect over FaceTime and Snapchat and they caught up on Saturday morning at the arena.

Brodin keeps track of how Dumba is playing and will sometimes watch.

"It was for sure weird at the beginning, at training camp," Brodin said. "Just so used to playing with him and seeing him, and he's a big impact in the group, too. He's always talking. You hear him wherever you are at the rink."

That day-to-day presence is gone, but Dumba made a lasting impression on the Wild.

"He was a big part of the team, even outside hockey, too," Brodin said. "He did so much for the hospitals, community. He did so much stuff. He's a good guy and really good heart. He cares about everyone."