Stars Place Matt Duchene On IR

The Dallas Stars have placed center Matt Duchene on injured reserve per Lia Assimakopoulos of Dallas News. Duchene suffered a setback in his recovery from a lower-body injury sustained at the start of training camp. The centerman will return to a “maintenance program” and is officially doubtful for Friday’s season opener, head coach Glen Gulutzan told NHL.com’s Robert Tiffin. Duchene did not take part in any preseason games.

This news will force a quick change for the Stars. Duchene seemed set to start the year centering Jamie Benn and Sam Steel on Dallas’ third-line. In his absence, versatile forward Steel should shift to the center role while Joel Kiviranta or Oskar Back move up from the fourth line. The resulting lineup could force Dallas to ice an extra defender in their season opener, as they now only carry 11 healthy forwards on the NHL lineup. Minor-league forwards like Colin Blackwell, Arttu Hyry, and Emil Hemming could offer an alternative.

No fill-in will make up for the impact that Duchene brings. He has stayed a consistent and strong impact while playing through his 30s in Dallas. Duchene scored 45 points in 57 games last season – a scoring pace that would have earned 65 points across 82 games. That would have matched his scoring total from the 2023-24 season, Duchene’s first year in Dallas. He split those seasons with 30 goals and 82 points in 82 games in 2024-25.

Duchene finished an injury-riddled 2025-26 campaign with momentum. He scored 13 points in the final 14 games of the regular season and nine points in six playoff games. A training camp injury will interrupt his chance to continue that hot scoring into his 18th season in the NHL.

Once he reaches full health, Duchene will kick off a race for his 1,000th point and 1,200th game in the NHL. He currently sits at 936 points scored in 1,195 games. Those totals have stacked across appearances with five clubs, including nine seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. Duchene has only crossed the 80-point mark twice in his career – once with the Nashvhille Predators in 2021-22 (43 goals, 86 points) and again with Dallas. He will provide Dallas with major scoring upside, from a depth role, assuming his upper-body injury doesn’t linger through the start of the season.