Matt Duchene, UFA 2026, $8M Cap Hit
Ah, yes. The rather large elephant in the room that is Matt Duchene. Everyone knows it, and I can only imagine what’s going on behind closed doors to try to work out a deal to unload this contract.
Duchene gets way more flack than I honestly think he deserves. Fans get sour over him because of the contract and him not living up to it. I understand that part of it, but David Poile is the person you should be disgusted with over the contract, not Duchene.
As for his play on the ice, we absolutely want to see more point production out of him. He’s never been an elite goal scorer, however the points need to definitely come at a higher rate.
Is there anyone out there crazy or bold enough to trade for Duchene. The Seattle Kraken through an expansion draft deal is probably our only hope. It would also probably take the Predators retaining some of the salary.
This is easily the biggest story of the offseason right now. Can Poile work his magic to broker a deal with Seattle, or some other team that maybe thinks they can morph Duchene back into being an elite top-six caliber player?
Call me a non-believer, but I fully expect Duchene back next season and back in the top-six. If that’s the case, I’d like to see him on a line with Filip Forsberg and we can keep our fingers crossed that he somehow starts producing top-six points.
Poile sent a pretty clear signal that he’s ready to break things up by trading a core player like Arvidsson. He’s definitely not finished with his offseason to-do list.