Stars Sign Veteran Forward to Huge Extension

“We are thrilled to have Matt back with our organization,” general manager Jim Nill said in a statement. “As our team’s leading scorer last season, he helped to solidify our forward group while also providing invaluable leadership off the ice and in the community. The fit with Matt and our team has been seamless from the start, and we’re looking forward to continuing to pursue our shared goal of bringing a championship to Dallas.”

Duchene, 34, has found new life since coming to Dallas in 2023. This season, he scored 82 points (30 goals, 52 assists) in as many games, the most on the team and the second most of his 16-year career. He also reached numerous milestones this season, including skating in his 1,100th NHL game in January and scoring his 500th career assist in February.

The playoffs were unfortunately a different story for Duchene, as he only had six points (one goal, five assists) in 18 games. His minus-16 rating was also the worst of any player in the postseason, tied with linemate Wyatt Johnston.

The No. 3 overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, Duchene previously played for the Colorado Avalanche (2009-17), Ottawa Senators (2017-19), Columbus Blue Jackets (2019) and Nashville Predators (2019-23). He has 891 points (371 goals, 520 assists) in 1,138 games.

The Stars have very little cap space to work with this offseason, but signing arguably their most important free agent two weeks before he could hit the market is a welcome surprise.