After the Nashville Predators decided to buy out forward Matt Duchene and his seven-year, $56 million contract, the Dallas Stars signed him to a one-year, $3 million deal. Duchene said he was shocked by the buyout and has no intentions of moving out of the Nashville area, but he’s excited about the opportunity to join a Stars team that has been traditionally very competitive.
Duchene is a two-time All-Star and consistently a 20-goal scorer, but the Predators were looking to go in a different direction with the team to save on salary cap space and try to utilize the money elsewhere; in which they spent on Ryan O’Reilly and Luke Schenn. Duchene had a decent season with the Preds last season, where he 22 goals, 34 assists, and 56 points in 71 games, which was second-best on the team behind Roman Josi’s 59 points. Furthermore, he will also be only two seasons removed from his 43-goal goal campaign when he joins Dallas.
Dallas has been trying to find ways to improve with less than $6 million in salary cap space, and Duchene seems like a great fit. The Stars are very heavy on offense with players like Tyler Seguin, Wyatt Johnson, Jason Roberston, Jamie Benn, and more, but they struggled a bit on the defensive side. Adding someone like Duchene helps add an arsenal to their offense while also bringing two-way play into the equation. He can be utilized on the power play, and he brings another strong, veteran presence. At 32-years-old and for a small cap hit, this seems like a steal for the Stars. On a highly talented team like Dallas, I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe that he could hit 30 goals and help their playoff and Stanley Cup chances.
The Colorado Avalanche may remain favorites to lead the Central Division, but the Stars could make even more noise this season. General manager Jim Nill seems to do well adding veteran pieces at low costs, which was evident at the trade deadline with Max Domi, and now with Duchene.
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