Stars' Matt Duchene to Miss Three Months After Core Muscle Surgery

On Monday, Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced that veteran forward Matt Duchene has undergone core muscle surgery and will be sidelined for the next three months.

The injury is a major blow for both the player and the team as Duchene has been a near point-per-game producer over the past few seasons, and Dallas will be without a key piece of its forward group and a leader in the locker room for the majority of the season.

It is also a difficult setback for the 35-year-old, who is nearing the end of his playing career. The 18-year veteran has two more seasons remaining on his current contract after this one, but his body has increasingly broken down. He missed 25 games last season and will now miss many more this year with the hope being that the Haliburton, Ontario native can eventually retire on his own terms.

Make Sure You Bookmark THN's Dallas Stars Site For The Latest News, Exclusive Interviews, Breakdowns, And So Much More.

Since joining the Stars, Duchene has produced some of the best hockey of his career, recording 71 goals and 121 assists for 192 points in 219 games and will hope to remain an impact player when returning from long-term injury reserve.

He joins Radek Faksa on the sidelines, who was also recently injured and is another major blow to the Dallas lineup as the 32-year-old regularly leads the penalty kill.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.