The Stars forward has had a roller coaster of a career, but Friday's double-overtime game-winner brought him one step closer to that elusive first Stanley Cup.
At the end of the 2022-23 season, Matt Duchene became an unwanted man.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound forward who signed a seven-year free agent contract with the Nashville Predators in the summer of 2019 thought he had finally found his home.
But after missing the playoffs last season for the first time in nine years, the Predators decided to change management and clean house. Duchene was one of those casualties after being put on unconditional waivers.
The Stars, who were looking for more depth at the forward position after being eliminated in the Western Conference Finals, swooped in and signed the Haliburton, Ontario native to a one-year, $3 million deal last July. After scoring the game-winning goal in double-overtime in Game 6 of the Second Round series against the Colorado Avalanche, the 33-year-old Duchene is closer to raising a Stanley Cup than he has ever been.
"From the time I signed here, I've just been very grateful and I've been looking forward to these opportunities," Duchene said following Friday's 2-1 double-overtime win. "This is only the second time I've been past the first round in my career. Now we're going to the conference finals. At 33, I think there's a certain level of appreciation that you have that you wouldn't have had as a young player."
Back Where It All Began
The setting of Duchene's winning goal couldn't have been more ideal. The Avalanche made him their third overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. Expectations were high, but Duchene's impact was immediate. He and then-teammate Ryan O'Reilly became the first 18-year-olds to skate with the Avs.
Duchene picked up an assist in his NHL debut on October 1, 2009, and he led all NHL rookies with 55 points in 81 games that season. His 24 goals tied John Tavares, the New York Islanders' No. 1 overall pick that year, for the most among rookies and ranked second on the team.
It was Duchene's shootout goal against the Vancouver Canucks on April 6, 2010 that clinched a playoff berth for the Avalanche. Although they were eliminated in six games by the San Jose Sharks in the first round, Duchene had three assists. He finished third in the Calder Trophy voting but made the NHL All-Rookie Team.
Duchene spent eight seasons in Colorado but played in just eight post-season games. After requesting a trade, he was sent to the Ottawa Senators. He spent parts of two seasons there without seeing the post-season before being dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in February 2019.
Duchene had his best individual playoff performance that season with the Blue Jackets, tallying five goals and five assists for 10 points in 10 games. The team won its first-ever playoff series against the Tampa Bay Lightning in a four-game sweep. Their season ended in the Second round when the Boston Bruins took them out in six games.
That summer, Duchene inked his seven-year contract with Nashville, averaging $3 million per year. His best season came in 2021-22 with the Predators when he recorded 43 goals and 43 assists for 86 points in 78 games.
As an avid guitarist, Nashville's music scene also appealed to Duchene. But his 2022-23 season ended on a sour note when the Predators failed to make the playoffs and opted to buy out the remainder of his contract.
Sweet Revenge
It was a bitter pill to swallow. But that's life in the NHL, and one team's loss was another's gain. Duchene was one of eight Stars players to score at least 20 goals during the regular season (25) and he ended up with 65 points in 80 games. Through 13 games this post-season, he has six points (2-4-6), with the most recent goal being the biggest of his career to date.
The game-winner was liberating for Duchene in several ways. It came in the building where his NHL career started and vaulted him and the Stars to the Western Conference Finals, the first trip for him and the third in five years for Dallas. It also made up for a Mason Marchment no-goal call in the first overtime, when Duchene was called on a questionable goalie interference that nullified what would have been the game-winner.
Fortunately, the hockey gods gave Duchene and the team a second chance. The celebration afterward is still a blur to Duchene, who took a backhand pass from Joe Pavelski and sent it past a sprawling Alexandar Georgiev at 11:42 of the second overtime.
"I don't even know," Duchene said when asked what the atmosphere was like after the goal. "I know I ended up on my knees like last time I got one in overtime, but I have no idea, to be honest with you. It's just elation, right?"
For Duchene and the Stars, it certainly is. They will get some much-needed rest while waiting to see whether they face the Vancouver Canucks or Edmonton Oilers for the right to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
Duchene's future beyond this season is uncertain, as he and the Stars will have some decisions to make once the season is over. But that's the last thing on Duchene's mind at the moment. His focus is getting the one thing every NHL player dreams about: hoisting the Stanley Cup not only for himself, but the group of guys he's currently with.
"Really happy for 'Dutchy'," Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said. "He's ridden the confidence roller coaster here the second half (of the season) and in the playoffs... He was probably as low as he could be after Game 5. That's why our group is special. I thought they rallied around him, and he was maybe our best player tonight."