Matt Duchene enjoying career revival season

Since being drafted third overall in 2009, Matt Duchene has been known around the hockey world to produce points in bunches thanks to his high end skill.

Unfortunately, things really seemed to fall off for Duchene in 2020-21 in just his second season with the Nashville Predators. In 34 games, he was able to score just six goals and 13 points, very concerning totals for a player who was in just the second year of a seven-year, $56 million deal. Given that he was 30 years old, some suggested that he was simply washed up, and he himself admitted that he heard plenty of that.

«I had a lot of people tell me when I hit 30, I would really notice a difference, so turning 30 was always my fear,» Duchene told ESPN. «And now that I am 30, it's like, 'okay, this isn't a big deal.' I do feel older in maturity and experience than I did at 18, but in terms of my love for the game and my passion? I still feel like it's my first year in the league and I'm grateful for that. When things aren't going well, obviously that gets tested. But this year, I've just felt great, and I can kind of see the forest for the trees.»

Duchene has proven detractors wrong in 2021-22. In 24 games, he has a team leading 13 goals along with 24 points. Watching games, it is clear that his confidence is all the way back, and it doesn't look like he is going to fade away anytime soon. It has been a great revival season, and is a big part of the reason why the Predators sit just one point shy of a wild card position in the Western Conference.

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