So far in this career, Matt Duchene has not been satisfied when he looks at his NHL resume, only getting to the playoffs twice and getting knocked out in the first round both times. He's only played eight playoff games for the Avalanche, and he finally had enough last Christmas when he demanded a trade. Now he'll get a new opportunity in Ottawa.
Duchene told reporters at a press conference to introduce him in Ottawa, "For me, that's not where I want to be at this point of my career...I only get one shot at this. I only get to play this game for however long my body lets me play it."Despite his trading wish being granted Sunday when he was traded from the Avalanche to the Senators, it remains to be seen whether or not this team will excel with Duchene being there or they drop back in the standings somehow.
The Senators gave up a lot for him, including goaltender Andrew Hammond, forward Shane Bowers, and a couple of picks both to the Avalanche and the Predators to pick up Duchene. And that usually means they're trying to win a Stanley Cup now and they're hoping that Duchene will provide that extra spark they need to get there.
Duchene, however, likes coming to the Senators, saying, "They are a team that was one goal away from the Stanley Cup Final last year...Had they got there, you never know what happens. That's something that I am dying for, to have the opportunity at that. To be here on this team that I believe a lot in already, it's very special."
It's going to be interesting to see how he performs on the Senators. We already know he is a talented player from his time on the Avalanche, but he has also not seen the playoffs quite a bit. Like I said, he only made the playoffs twice, once in 2010 Western Conference Quarterfinals, where the Avalanche went out in six games to the Sharks, and the 2014 Western Conference First Round, where they went out in seven games to the Wild. In that Wild series, he missed the first five games due to a knee injury and didn't return until Game six. In those two games that he returned for, he only tallied three assists. It was clearly not enough.
Since that time, the Avalanche haven't made the playoffs even with him, and finished last season dead last in the NHL with 48 points. That was the fewest in the league, and it was definitely a big disappointment and a big shocker for the rest of the NHL.
Good thing for the Senators is that he is signed through the end of 2018-19 season. Now I believe he's going to a better team with a better shot at winning the Stanley Cup than the Avalanche at this point, but I still don't know how the Senators will incorporate them or even if they make it that far this year. There's a lot of good teams in the East right now, including the Penguins and the Capitals who are always at the top of the East every single year. But if what I'm hearing from GM Pierre Dorion says something, it does say that adding Duchene brings a lot of hope. He's a great goal scorer, a great teammate, and an assist guy who's going to make everybody else around him better. And yes, I agree in some ways that he only has one shot at getting the Stanley Cup, but maybe he'll be on the Penguins one day and he'll get another shot there. But right now, he's got to have focus like this, because your body's not going to work on the ice forever and you got to take advantage of every moment to get to the Stanley Cup.
As for the Senators, it's highly possible they could make the Stanley Cup this year. And if they did, it would be a very big deal in Canada, which hasn't won the Stanley Cup in such a long period of time. The Senators seem like the likely team to get there, and I hope it happens, because when Duchene is on the ice, he makes everyone else better and he will be better as a result of going to a team that has big expectations to make it to the Stanley Cup and the team itself proves it.
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