Dallas Stars veteran forward Matt Duchene is expected to miss about three months after the team said Monday that he had surgery to repair a core injury. Duchene hasn’t played a game this season after dealing with what was called a lower-body injury in training camp. He was placed on long-term i njured reserve after a setback before the season opener, meaning he would miss at least the first 10 games. The 35-year-old forward, who has played 17 NHL seasons, will now be out much longer than that. Duchene had 45 points (16 goals and 29 assists) in 57 games for the Stars last season, his third in Dallas. He previously played for Colorado, Nashville, Ottawa, and Columbus after being the third overall pick by the Avalanche in the 2009 draft. The Stars haven’t been fully healthy since Glen Gulutzan took over as head coach ahead of last season, and the team won’t be able to reach that milestone in 2026. The forward won’t return to the ice until January at the earliest. “You feel for him on a personal level,” Stars goalie Jake Oettinger said. “To be away from the team for that long is awful. He’s such a big part of the locker room culture we have. We’re going to be missing that a lot, and obviously, he’s a heck of a player on the ice as well.” Duchene had been battling the injury since the start of training camp and suffered a setback during the team’s road trip to Minnesota for the preseason finale. The injury was originally called a lower-body injury when Duchene was placed on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) at the beginning of the month. Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News. ...read more read less