Dallas general manager Jim Nill announced Monday that Matt Duchene had what he called “successful surgery to repair a core injury” and is expected to miss approximately three months.
Three months from mid-October puts the 35-year-old center back somewhere around mid-January. The Stars are 2-2-1 and host Colorado next.
This Was Coming Since Camp
Duchene has been dealing with an upper-body issue since training camp. He missed the first days of it, was limited through the preseason, and has not played a game in 2026-27.
So nobody in Dallas is surprised. The team has been managing this for over a month and has clearly been hoping it would resolve without a procedure. It did not.
There is an argument that doing the surgery now is better than dragging a compromised player through November and operating in December anyway. That argument is correct and it does not make the next three months easier.
He Was Already Declining
Here is the part Dallas has to sit with. Duchene put up 16 goals and 45 points in 57 games last season, his lowest full-season production since 2011-12. He added two goals and nine points in six playoff games against Minnesota.
Forty-five points is useful. It is not what Dallas signed up for, and it came before a core surgery and a 36th birthday.
Players in their mid-30s coming off abdominal procedures do not usually return to their previous level. Sometimes they do. The base rate is not encouraging.
The Contract Is the Real Problem
Duchene is in year two of a four-year extension signed in June 2025, carrying a $4.5 million cap hit through 2028-29.
In cap terms that is a reasonable number for a second-line center. It is a much worse number for a 38-year-old in 2028 who may not be a top-six forward anymore.
This is also his last season with a full no-move clause. After that it converts to a modified no-trade clause with a five-team list, which means Dallas gains some flexibility right around the time the contract becomes something it might want to move.
What Dallas Does Now
The Stars have depth at center and have started the season without Duchene already, so this is not a sudden hole. It is a confirmed one, and it lasts until the back half of the year.
The optimistic version: Dallas gets a healthy Duchene in January, fully recovered, for the stretch run and the playoffs, which is when it actually needs him.
The realistic version: Dallas gets a 35-year-old three months off core surgery, coming off his worst full season in over a decade, and has to figure out whether he is still a playoff contributor. The Stars will find out in January. They have 40 games to play before then.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
