Free agent Matt Duchene found peace in Dallas, wants to re-sign with Stars for 2024-25
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When the season came to a close and Pete DeBoer spoke in his exit interview Tuesday, he gave Chris Tanev what he called the highest possible compliment.
“He changed our team when he came in — in a lot of different ways,” he said. “We were a different team from that point on. That’s because of all the things he brought to the table.”
Before adding Tanev ahead of the March trade deadline, Dallas was a middle-of-the-pack defensive team, ranking 14th in goals against per game (3.03). After Tanev joined the roster, the Stars climbed to second in the league for the last month of the season in that category (2.11). In the playoffs, they finished fifth (2.53).
Tanev proved to be the perfect fit for the Stars, justifying why he was so highly sought after by GM Jim Nill during the trade season. While he nearly helped Dallas reach the Stanley Cup Final, he and the team came up short of their goals, and now, they’ll have to pull some strings to keep him.
Tanev said in his own exit interview that he’d be happy to stay in Dallas for another year.
“I had a great time here. The organization treated me awesome. Coaches were great. I learned a lot. It was a great journey,” he said. “Hopefully, I’m able to stay here. I had a great time. My family had a great time here. We’ll see how that goes. It’s still obviously really early.”
DeBoer expressed the same sentiment.
“We’d love to have him back,” he said.
But Tanev’s future in Dallas will come down to salary cap and whether the team has room for his contract.
Nill put on a masterclass in negotiations when he landed Tanev in late February. He didn’t give up any first-round draft picks, rostered players or top prospects in the three-team trade with Calgary and New Jersey. He also managed to have those two teams retain 75% of Tanev’s $4.5 million cap hit. Dallas was only responsible for $1.125 million this year.
That won’t be the case next year if the Stars choose to re-sign Tanev. After the year he had, the Stars will likely have to pay at least four times what they did for him this year.
But Tanev could be worth it. With Joe Pavelski likely stepping away from the game, that’ll keep some cap space available. The future of other unrestricted free agents like Jani Hakanpää will play a role as well.
While the Stars are still recovering from Sunday’s crushing loss, the conversations around Tanev are set to begin soon. His time in Dallas may amount to just three months, or he could become a key piece in another deep playoff run next year.
“I had my role, which was awesome. Really good team obviously,” he said. “It’s a team set up for success for quite some time with how good the players are, the different age groups of players and how the young guys have progressed and are going to be elite players in the league. As far as that, I’m super fortunate I was able to be here.”
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Behold the 2026 Dallas Cowboys schedule.
We knew coming into Thursday that the Cowboys would be on the road to take on the New York Giants in the season opener on Sunday Night Football, that Dallas is “hosting” the Baltimore Ravens in Brazil in Week 3, and that the Philadelphia Eagles would be in town for Thanksgiving Day. Now we know it all.
Among the first things that jump to mind is that bye week is late. Dallas isn’t on bye until Week 14, the Sunday of that week is December 13th for full perspective.
The Cowboys also only play twice in their own building, thanks to the Brazil game, before November. Sometimes those weird quirks show up in schedules and this is certainly one of them.
It is interesting to see that the NFL gave Dallas the longest amount of rest possible after their Thanksgiving tilt. It hasn’t been uncommon for the league to have the Cowboys play on consecutive Thursdays, but perhaps that is a thing of the past.
Flashit Photography
On Wednesday, the Dallas City Council approved funding that will replace highway exit signs and road signs marking Lamar Street with new signage honoring Botham Jean, the 26-year-old Dallas accountant who was fatally shot in his own apartment by an off-duty Dallas police officer in 2018.
The $180,500 in funding for 13 signs to be installed by the Texas Department of Transportation is the final step in the street renaming that was unanimously approved by the council in 2021. The new signs will be placed at exits along Interstate 45, State Highway 310 and U.S. Highway 175.
Already, Botham Jean Boulevard signs run along the road in the Cedars, where Jean lived before he was killed.
“This street on which he chose to live and the street on which he died can serve as a lasting memory of the upstanding resident who loved Dallas so much,” his mother, Allison Jean, told the council in 2021.
Jean was shot by Amber Guyger, a Dallas police officer, after she entered his apartment believing it was her own. A Dallas jury found Guyger guilty of murder in 2019 and sentenced her to 10 years in prison. She has also been ordered to pay the Jean family nearly $100 million in a civil trial, which accused her of using excessive force.
The Jean family is seeking restitution from the city of Dallas because they argue that Dallas, as Guyger’s former employer, had a duty to defend Guyger and pay out claims brought against her. The Jean family filed suit against the city in April of this year.
On Wednesday, city council member Adam Bazaldua stated that the continued remembrance of Jean’s name is a reminder that “no one is above the law.”
“This has never simply been about changing street signs; it has always been about commemorating a life that was taken too soon,” said Bazaldua. “When driving down Botham Jean Boulevard, we are reminded of the thousands of lives lost across the country each year to senseless gun violence.”
Bazaldua said that once city leaders were made aware that some signs from the initial 2021 street name change had not materialized, the horseshoe took steps to correct the oversight “somewhat promptly.” But he acknowledged that Wednesday’s funding came on the heels of community advocacy urging the project’s completion.
Community leader Yafeuh Balogun said his organization, Community Movement Builders, began asking the city for the updated signs in September 2025. Addressing the council ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Balogun encouraged the horseshoe to vote in favor of the funds because it “would make no sense” to not follow through with the street renaming approved years ago.
“I think this is very powerful simply because driving here today, I still saw the Lamar Street Signs,” Balogun said. “I remember how powerful it was back in 2021 when the city council voted to rename Lamar Street to Botham Jean. I’d like to keep that legacy going.”
We’re less than a month out from the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and North Texans volunteering in the event have received their uniforms. FOX 4’s Peyton Yager has more on that and the new hospitality tickets released today.
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