Matt Duchene's UFA Status Takes Surprising Turn, Maple Leafs Lose Another Key Target

Talk of the town is the Maple Leafs losing Mitch Marner to free agency and how the team is not only going to respond to losing so much offense, but respond to the chatter from fans who think the team might not be as dominant as they once were.

Signing a premium free agent like Same Bennett or Nikolaj Ehlers would certainly help things, they are going to be expensive options and they may need to shift gears to a veteran instead.

If that veteran was Matt Duchene however, it seems like the team is going to be out of luck considering that a new report from The Athletic's James Mirtle reveals that Duchene is likely to stay in Dallas.

Mirtle appeared on the JD Bunkis podcast and believes that the combination of competitiveness and the comfort Dallas can offer Duchene is a huge component of him deciding to re-up with the team.

Duchene, 34, enjoyed yet another successful season with the Stars, putting up a point per game rate (82 points, 82 games) and managed to hit the 50 assist plateau for the first time in his career.

The former third overall pick has 891 points (371G, 520A) but has never won a Stanley Cup. He's played for Colorado, Nashville, Columbus, Ottawa and Dallas; Duchene made $3M this past season.

Mentioning before he prioritized comfort and stability in his next deal, staying with Dallas certainly offers him that, and for a career that's still great albeit winding down; it's a perfect match.

If they can't get Duchene, then perhaps they can try to persuade Jamie Benn to leave his long-time team for a bigger role, and perhaps become the hero that Toronto has desperately needed.

He won't cost that much, can still put up solid offensive numbers, plays hard and fits great in a Craig Berube lineup. He's not that fast sure, but he's a hulking power forward who would look great alongside William Nylander on the second line.

They could also try and rekindle some real magic by not only signing Jonathan Toews to a deal and spark his comeback, but bring his old running mate Patrick Kane along for the ride; the two have a combined 2,226 points.

Both will be reasonably cheap options, Toews gets a chance to comeback in a premium market with a fantastic training staff, and Kane gets to not only run it back with his old buddy, but get to form a 1-2 American punch alongside Auston Matthews.

But there's also so many other names Toronto can go after, and with all eyes seemingly on Brad Marchand; keep an eye on him going forward.

If that's the consolation after being unable to sign Duchene?

Definitely worth it at the end of the day.