UFA center Matt Duchene won’t test the market. He’s returning to the Stars on a one-year deal worth roughly $3M, per Chris Johnston of The Athletic.
It’s a great deal for Dallas, who gets Duchene on a solid discount and reserves cap space for later in the day. Assuming a $3M cap hit, it still has nearly $15M in space with nine open roster spots.
It isn’t enough to keep deadline pickup Chris Tanev around, though — the veteran blueliner landed with the Maple Leafs on a six-year deal after they acquired his signing rights via trade during the draft.
The deal could be identical to the one-year, $3M pact that landed him in Dallas as a free agent last summer. Duchene was a surprise addition to the market after having the final three seasons of his seven-year, $56M deal with the Predators bought out.
It’s hardly an unexpected outcome. Reporting over the last month indicated strong mutual interest in an extension, and Duchene was public about his willingness to take a discount.
A considerable discount it is for the 33-year-old, who had 25 goals and 65 points in 80 games for Dallas last year. He was the No. 5 free agent on our Top 50 list.
Duchene will be relied upon heavily to help replace the offense lost by Joe Pavelski’s expected retirement. It’s a solid bet that he’ll keep up his previous production level — it’s roughly in line with his averages over the past three years.
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