Stars’ Duchene Out Three Months After Surgery

Matt Duchene underwent surgery to repair a core muscle injury and is expected to miss about three months. The Dallas Stars announced the surgery update Monday via X. He had a setback on the road before opening night, has not played this season, and was placed on long-term injured reserve on Oct. 1, retroactive to Sept. 29. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said the team thought he was going to play but it does not look that way, and that over the last couple of weeks he just has not been able to turn the corner even with two weeks of trying to nurse the injury around. The 35-year-old center scored 45 points (16 goals, 29 assists) in 57 regular-season games and 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) in 6 Stanley Cup Playoff games last season. He is entering the second year of a four-year deal paying $4.5 million per season, with 192 points in 219 games for Dallas since the 2023-24 season. Selected third overall by Colorado in 2009, he has 936 career points in 1,195 regular-season games. No contested facts appear on the injury, timeline, or LTIR move; the single left-rated and right-rated headlines both lead on the surgery and three-month absence with no distinct framing split. Dallas is 2-2-1 to start the season.