Matt Duchene joins Dallas Stars on 1-year deal, source says - ESPN

Matt Duchene will remain in the Central Division after all with a source confirming to ESPN that the forward is signing a one-year deal worth $3 million with the Dallas Stars.

Duchene signing with the Stars brings a close to what has been a hectic last 24 hours for the nine-time 20-goal scorer. On Friday, the Nashville Predators elected to place Duchene on waivers for the purpose of a buyout with three years remaining on a contract carrying an $8 million annual cap hit.

Finding a top-nine forward who could be used throughout the lineup became a priority for the Stars. It was something Stars GM Jim Nill and his front office staff addressed at the NHL trade deadline when they acquired Evgenii Dadonov and Max Domi in separate deals. Both Dadonov and Domi played important roles for the Stars late in the regular season and again in the playoffs.

Getting to the Western Conference Final where they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights reinforced the Stars were in a championship window. But it also meant trying to improve their roster with limited cap space. They re-signed Dadonov to a two-year contract worth $2.25 million earlier in the week which left them with a little more than $5.144 million in available cap space.

Even with that $5.14 million, there was an internal belief that re-signing Domi would be a challenge given he could potentially command more money on the open market.

Bringing in Duchene, who led the Predators with 22 goals, strengthens a forward group that already has Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski, Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Wyatt Johnston and Dadonov.

There was an expectation that Duchene could be moved with the caveat that the Predators' decision to buy him out was still