It’s been nearly eight months since general manager Barry Trotz and the Nashville Predators abruptly and unexpectedly bought out Matt Duchene’s contract. But for the 33-year-old forward, the feelings are still raw – especially when he returns to Bridgestone Arena as a member of the visiting Dallas Stars.
Ahead of the Stars’ game against the Predators on Thursday, Duchene reflected on the fateful day when he learned that he had been bought out, saying he “never cried so much in my life.” The move left him scrambling for a new team, which turned out to be Dallas.
“No,” Duchene said tersely when asked if, in hindsight, there had been any indication that the Predators would buy out the remaining three years of his contract. “Zero. None.”
Duchene described the last several months as a “roller coaster” as he and his family had their lives turned upside down. He has had no choice but to move on from the Predators and take things one day at a time.
“Obviously, they wanted a total shift in direction, I guess,” he said. “I guess I was a casualty of that, like half the team was. There’s a fine line of taking it personally and understanding it’s a business. I’m probably still sorting through that. But at the end of the day, I’m going to bet on myself all day long.”
Duchene’s Fit in Dallas
Duchene certainly did bet on himself – and he won.
He signed a one-year, $3 million contract with Dallas on July 1 and settled nicely into a second-line center role between fellow Ontario natives Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin.
“It’s been great,” Duchene said. “We’ve had a lot of success together, and we are still hungry for more. We want to keep progressing. It’s been great; they’re two great players, and I’m lucky to play with them.”
Duchene, who primarily played at right wing on the Predators’ top line last season before a finger injury sidelined him in late March, has been relishing his role on a Dallas team that is stacked offensively and making a run at the Stanley Cup this season as the top team in the Central Division.
“It’s been awesome,” Duchene said. “When I came in, there wasn’t that pressure to come in and maybe be at the top of my game production wise right off the bat, because this team had so many weapons. But it came quick, and… it’s been an easy transition [because] this team’s so talented, and we’re so well coached. It’s been a ton of fun.”
Duchene’s Music City Homecoming
It seemed only fitting, of course, that Duchene would score his 20th and 21st goals of the season in Nashville against his former team on Thursday. He now has 12 NHL seasons with 20-plus goals – and his 21 goals, 31 assists, and 52 points would all be the second-most on Nashville’s roster this season.
Related: Predators ‘Weren’t Ready to Play’ in Loss to Stars
Duchene’s connection to Nashville transcends his on-ice heroics, though; on Wednesday night, he looked right at home at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge across the street from Bridgestone Arena, where his Stars teammates and coaches had coaxed him onstage to sing and strum Morgan Wallen’s “Whiskey Glasses” on his guitar.
Now performing: Matt Duchene 🎸🎶 pic.twitter.com/eRcvl96AbB
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) February 16, 2024
“We’ve seen it a couple times now,” Stars head coach Peter DeBoer said of Duchene’s musical gifts. “We had a team function in Palm Springs to start the season and he broke it out and he was on stage again last night. He’s got some good stuff.”
Duchene, whose passion for music has been well-documented over the years, says the country music scene in Dallas is “pretty good” – though it doesn’t hold a candle to Nashville. After all, you can take the man out of the Music City, but you can’t take the Music City out of the man.
Duchene has ‘Two Great Cities to Call Home’
While it once seemed impossible to conceive of a world in which Duchene spent the rest of his NHL career anywhere other than Nashville, Dallas has proven to be a natural fit for him, along with his wife, Ashley, and their three children, Beau (5), Jaymes (3) and Ellie (1).
“I think it’s a really similar town to Nashville and has a similar culture,” Duchene said. “It’s a bigger city, but it’s been awesome. It’s been an easy transition for us, and it’s kind of cool to have two great cities to call home.”
The Duchenes kept their home in Nashville, where they spent the Christmas holiday after the Stars visited the Predators on Dec. 23. Ashley’s parents still live in the area, and the family has already purchased land to build a new home to live in when Duchene’s playing days are over.
“The game plan is to be here when I retire,” he said. “That’s the plan as of now.”
It’s ironic considering that last July, just one day after he had arranged for Duchene’s massive buyout, Trotz made a pointed comment when discussing the free-agent signings of Ryan O’Reilly, Gustav Nyquist, and Luke Schenn and his intention of building a winning culture in Nashville.
“I don’t want you to come to Nashville to retire,” Trotz said. “I want you to come to Nashville to win.”
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Eight months later, the Predators have tumbled out of the wild card race after losing seven of their last 10, including a 9-2 loss to the Stars on Thursday. Meanwhile, the latter sit atop the Central Division and remain one of the favorites to hoist the Stanley Cup this year.
Whether Trotz’s comment about retirement was directed at Duchene specifically remains unclear. But it will be even more ironic if Duchene does indeed retire in Nashville – after winning a Stanley Cup with Dallas.