Nashville Predators center Matt Duchene (95) Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
First and foremost, let’s get one thing right — the Nashville Predators are not a worse team with Matt Duchene on the ice.
We have heard endless talk about the “Duchene curse,” but hockey is a team game, and the team did not turn their 2020-2021 season around because he missed significant time with an injury. Rather, everyone, from coaches to players alike, improved, and continued to improve when he returned.
At the same time, the last thing I will say is that Duchene has lived up to his contract, nor will I say he has come anywhere close to it.