Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene will miss about three months after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury, the team announced Monday. The 35-year-old veteran, who can play center or wing, missed training camp and the start of the 2026-27 season with the lower-body issue.
Duchene was placed on long-term injured reserve Oct. 1 after the injury worsened during training camp, according to NHL.com. He last played in the first-round playoff loss to Minnesota.
Team Statement And Recovery
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said the club decided to operate now rather than let the injury linger. “You didn’t want to kick down the road anymore,” Gulutzan said Monday, per ESPN.
Unlike the concussion that cost Duchene time last season, a core muscle repair has a clearer recovery path. “I think he’s going to be able to come back easier because history for this is it’s a physical thing,” Gulutzan said. “It’s a lot easier to monitor their return to play. So, I would expect when he comes back that it’ll be a little bit more seamless than it was last year, just with the nature of the injury.”
Impact On Dallas’s Lineup And Offense
The Stars enter Monday at 2-2-1, scoring 2.20 goals per game, which ranks 27th in the NHL, and converting just 7.7% on the power play, 28th in the league. Those numbers mark a steep drop from last season, when Dallas finished ninth in goals per game at 3.33 and second on the power play at 28.6%.
Gulutzan was blunt about what losing a player of Duchene’s caliber means for an offense already struggling to score. “You lose a guy that, you know, a couple years ago (2024-25) had 82 points. You take those guys out of your lineup, you lose offense.
I mean, that’s the reality. No offense to anybody in this room, but if I plug you in that hole, you’re not going to give me any offense. You can’t just put anybody in there, right?
That’s why these are special players. So you’ve got to get other guys to chip in now, and even be better defensively, which we have been. I mean, we’ve allowed one goal in the last three games.
But certainly when you keep taking pieces out, offensive guys, it does affect your offense,” Gulutzan said, according to NHL.com.
The Stars have leaned on defense to offset the scoring drop, allowing just one goal over their last three games. Dallas has already managed injuries to Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen and Tyler Seguin over the past year, giving the organization recent experience navigating lineup gaps.
Duchene’s Season And Career Numbers
Duchene finished the 2025-26 regular season with 16 goals and 45 points in 57 games, then added nine points on two goals and seven assists in six Stanley Cup Playoff games. Two seasons ago, in 2024-25, he posted 82 points, the number Gulutzan referenced in describing the offensive void his absence creates.
The third overall pick by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2009 NHL Draft, Duchene is in his 17th NHL season and his third with Dallas. Across stops with the Avalanche, Senators, Blue Jackets, Predators and Stars, he has tallied 936 points on 387 goals and 549 assists in 1,195 regular-season games, adding 46 points in 75 career playoff games.
What’s Next For Dallas
The Stars host Colorado on Tuesday. Duchene is expected back in early January, roughly three months after surgery.
For more on this story, see Total Apex Sports’ Dallas Stars coverage.
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