FRISCO, Texas — Matt Duchene had surgery to repair a core injury and is expected to miss about three months, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill announced Monday.
Duchene, 35, has not played this season. Dallas placed him on long-term injured reserve Oct. 1 with what the team called a lower-body injury at the time, a move that kept him out until at least Oct. 25 against the New York Islanders.
The Dallas Morning News reported that the three-month timeline likely keeps Duchene out for the rest of the 2026 calendar year.
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Monday that he was involved in every step of the decision and that several people examined Duchene before the Stars chose surgery.
“He had some issues (during training camp), and then we thought (if) we took some time (he) could work through them,” Gulutzan said. “And then (he) couldn’t. And so then we got another look at it, a couple other people to look at it. And a collection of those minds decided, ‘Let’s take care of it rather than trying to just work through it.’”
“I’m not a doctor, and I don’t want to get too far into it,” Gulutzan continued. “But for me, in the analysis I’ve gotten, and I was involved in all the steps, it was more of a chronic thing that they didn’t want to kick down the road anymore.”
Duchene had 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points in 57 games last season. In the Stars’ six-game first-round loss to the Minnesota Wild, he added 2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points, and that series was the last time he played.
Matt Duchene’s Injury Dates To The Start Of Training Camp
Duchene had been dealing with the injury since the start of camp and suffered a setback during the team’s trip to Minnesota for the preseason finale, The Dallas Morning News reported.
On Sept. 30, the day before he went on long-term injured reserve, Gulutzan described a maintenance plan.
“He’s back kind of in a little bit of a maintenance program here,” Gulutzan explained Sept. 30. “We’re just monitoring now to see where he’s going to be at. A little bit of a setback on the road.”
Duchene missed 25 games last season. Early last season, he was out about two months with a concussion and struggled to get his game back up to speed after he returned.
Gulutzan expects a smoother return this time because of the nature of the injury.
“I think he’s going to be able to come back easier, because the history of this is it’s a physical thing,” Gulutzan said.
Before last season, Duchene signed a four-year, $18 million extension, and this is its second year. Since arriving in Dallas for 2023-24, he has 71 goals and 121 assists for 192 points in 219 games.
Colorado took Duchene third overall in the 2009 NHL Draft. Over 17 seasons with five teams, he has 387 goals and 549 assists for 936 points in 1,195 games, plus 46 points in 75 playoff games.
Stars Face Forward Depth Test Without Duchene, Mavrik Bourque
The Stars entered the season without Mavrik Bourque, who scored 20 goals in 82 games last season before Dallas traded him in the offseason. Gulutzan said the Stars understand that replacing Duchene’s production for three months will be a challenge.
Dallas entered Monday averaging 2.20 goals per game, 27th in the NHL, and its power play ranked 28th at 7.7%. Two seasons ago, Duchene led the Stars with 30 goals and 52 assists for 82 points.
“You lose a guy that, a couple years ago (2024-25), had 82 points,” Gulutzan said.
When Dallas put Duchene on long-term injured reserve, it used the cap space to recall forwards Colin Blackwell and Arttu Hyry. Hyry has centered the third line with Duchene out.
Through six games, Dallas has scored 13 goals. The Stars lost 3-2 to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday without Duchene, Joel Kiviranta, and Wyatt Johnston, who missed the first game of his career with an illness.
Dallas, 2-3-1, plays at Colorado on Wednesday, with puck drop at 7:30 p.m. CT on TNT.
