3:49 PM: The Stars have announced the signing.
9:28 AM: UFA center Matt Duchene won’t test the market. He’s returning to the Stars on a one-year deal worth roughly $3MM, 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 $3MM cap hit, they still have nearly $15MM in space with nine open roster spots. It isn’t enough to keep deadline pickup Chris Tanev around, though – the veteran blue-liner 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, $3MM 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, $56MM 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 level of production – it’s roughly in line with his averages over the past three years.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Only one year? Suprising.
I remember Duchene himself being kinda shocked at being bought out & when he went to Dallas he seemed like it was just because they showed interest. I would have thought he would/could have parlayed that into a genuinely decent multi-year deal somewhere else. Good for Dallas though.
was not expecting that contract. hell yeah.
(blinks) One of the most team-friendly deals in the NHL. Guess he REALLY likes Dallas.
Texas is a no state income tax state so add ~10% to the deal for the 41 home games he plays in Dallas.