Yahoo Sports Projecting the Stars: Matt Duchene
In advance of the 2024-25 NHL regular season, The Hockey News’ Dallas Stars team website is introducing a series of player projections for the Dallas Stars. Yesterday we left off with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, next up is Matt Duchene.
Matt Duchene was one of the top offseason acquisitions prior to last season, and gave the Stars the depth scoring they desperately needed. Now, signing another identical deal to last season, can Duchene give the Stars even more than his stellar campaign last year?
Career: 341 goals, 809 points in 1056 games
2023-24 Statistics: 25 goals, 65 points in 80 games
Salary Cap Hit: $3 million through 2024-25
Summary of 2023-24 Season: After being bought out by the Nashville Predators, Duchene took a major discount to play in Dallas, at $3 million for the year. With the sting of the buyout and only one season removed from a 43-goal season, Duchene was looking to prove himself. He was partnered with Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment for most of the season and at times, their line looked like the top line for the Stars. Duchene's puck-carrying skills were exactly what the other two needed to make that line work. His presence in the lineup seemed to perfectly balance the forward roster, giving the Stars three bona fide scoring lines along with a fourth line that was quite effective in its own right. With the injury to Tyler Seguin late in the season, Duchene's production dropped off, and in the playoffs that line didn't quite recapture their top line form from the beginning of the season. That being said, no Stars fan is soon forgetting the heartbreaker celly in double overtime of Game 6 against his former team, the Colorado Avalanche.
Related: From Unwanted to Overtime Hero, Matt Duchene Is Right Where He Wants to Be
Projections for 2024-25 Season: Duchene hit the free agency market on July 1st, but only for a short period of time before signing another one-year, $3 million contract with the Stars. There is no reason why Duchene shouldn't hit the 60+ mark again this season with the Stars. The question really falls within his goal scoring ability, because he has proven he can top 40 goals, but at the same time seems to play with more of an assist mentality. He is always going to distribute the puck for plenty of assists, but if he can lock in and produce more goals, the Dallas offense could be absolutely lethal. Also, with the retirement of Joe Pavelski, there is a hole to be filled on the top line with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. The Stars have the luxury of having a few options that can fit, but should Duchene find himself on the top line, that could easily give him a great chance at another 40-goal season. If not, Marchment and Seguin surely won't complain about having the playmaker back on their dynamic line.
Make sure you bookmark THN's Dallas Stars site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
Projecting The Stars: Roope Hintz
Projecting the Stars: Jason Robertson
Projecting The Stars: Tyler Seguin
Projecting the Stars: Jamie Benn
Follow Taylor on Twitter: @THN_taylor
