Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene will be sidelined for about three months after undergoing surgery to repair a core injury, general manager Jim Nill said Monday.
Duchene has not appeared in a game this season, and the injury has lingered since training camp. The 35-year-old missed the first couple of days and was a very limited participant as the Stars prepared for the 2026-27 regular season.
It’s a tough setback for Dallas, which has leaned on Duchene as a steady secondary scorer since he joined the team. He is in his fourth season with the Stars, and while his career has had its ups and downs, he has given them reliable offense during a stretch of deep playoff runs.
Last season was a difficult one for Duchene on the injury front. He was limited to 57 games and finished with 16 goals and 45 points, his lowest full-season production since 2011-12, when he was still breaking through with the Colorado Avalanche.
He did bounce back in the postseason. Duchene was healthy for Dallas’ first-round series against the Minnesota Wild and played a major role offensively, putting up two goals and nine points in six games. The Stars still fell in that series to their Central Division rival.
Duchene is now in the second season of the four-year extension he signed with Dallas in June 2025. The contract carries a $4.5 million cap hit through the 2028-29 season.
This is the last of the two years in which he holds a full no-move clause. Beginning next year, the deal shifts to a modified no-trade clause that requires him to submit a five-team trade list for the rest of the contract.
Without Duchene available, Dallas has opened the new season unevenly. The Stars have dropped three of their first five games, including a shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. They are 2-2-1 and return to the ice Tuesday night at home against the rival Avalanche.
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Stars Get A Timely Lineup Boost Before A Huge Colorado Test
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Faksa and Kiviranta both worked through lower-body injuries, with Faksa forced out against Pittsburgh and Kiviranta missing the recent road trip. Their return comes as Dallas prepares for a major test, and the timing matters because the Stars will want as much lineup stability as they can get before facing Colorado. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Seguin May Be Giving The Stars What They Desperately Need
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Seguin snapped his scoring drought in a way the Stars will want to remember, first by helping force the game deeper into the night and then by coming through in the shootout. It was his first goal since Nov. 15, 2025, and if this is the start of him settling back into a bigger role, Dallas could use every bit of it while the forward group waits to get healthier. [Read more 🡒]
Glen Gulutzan Sounds Off As Stars Face An Early Edge Test
After two straight shutout wins, the Stars ran into a much messier night against the Penguins, and it left Glen Gulutzan with plenty to sort through afterward. Dallas still had its structure in place, but the edge that carried the team through the early stretch was harder to find in a game that slipped into a shootout.
Gulutzan was candid about the effort level and even wondered whether giving the group a day off before the game might have dulled the edge a bit. For a team trying to build on a strong opening run, that kind of early checkpoint matters, especially with the schedule already forcing quick resets and with other league storylines, from Igor Shesterkins season-ending injury to Sebastian Ahos fast start, continuing to shift the backdrop around the Stars. [Read more 🡒]