Will Matt Duchene Lead the NHL in Scoring This Season?

In the 2015-2016 Season Matt Duchene had an interesting time. From rumors of being involved in trade talks to turning into the hottest scoring player in the entire National Hockey League after December.

What are we going to see this season out of Duchene? Will he have the inconsistency issues that he was hit with to start last year or will we see the player that flat out dominated the rest of the league from December on?

My take is that Duchene met his first real concern that he might be traded with what can only be explained as taking the next step in his development as a man and a player.

Matt Duchene has all ways loved the Colorado Avalanche. When he was not drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning his draft year you could see his excitement and when the Avalanche finally made the announcement you could hear we did it! The video shows a lot of his draft day experience telling the team and everyone he could how the Avalanche were his favorite team growing up. This is one of many reasons why Duchene is one of my favorite players on the team.



When he got hot right after those rumors were starting to swirl everyone in the fan base my self included was waiting to see when it would drop back off again. When would he come back to earth? The interesting thing about this all is that he did not do that. He may have gone through a bit of a funk down the stretch the last 10 or so games of the season as the entire team did, but he never stopped working hard and pushing to get himself and the team going.

When the potential trade rumors started to swirl in my mind Duchene had two choices. Give up and realize that he may end up being shipped away from his favorite team and have to live with that realization that he did not play well enough to stay there the rest of his life, or he could put his head down and start working harder and do whatever it took on the ice to get things turned around and that is what he did. That situation and how he handled it grew my respect for him as a man as well as a hockey player.

You could argue that Duchene met that adversity and uncertainty when he started to hear the rumors with showing what true leadership is. He took his energy and effort to a whole new level and he never looked back. He was rewarded for his hard work and elite play by the NHL by being named to the All Star Game.  Duchene finished the 2015-2016 season with his first 30 goal season.

Photo Credit: www.iihfworlds2016.com

When the Avalanche were eliminated from post season contention he continued to play his game on the national stage for Team Canada in the World Championship earning a gold medal in the process.

I fully expect and am excited to see Matt continue that dominant play and hard work that he showed last year in the World Cup that begins in September. He can use it to keep the momentum going and start the season off with a bang!

Will Duchene lead the league in scoring this year? Maybe not, but I am going to predict a 85 + point season out of him this year if he stays healthy and plays in all 82 games.

I also would not be shocked to see him take his game up another level and get into the thick of the scoring race by mid season. This is the year that we are going to see him pull everything together and really put the team on his back offensively.

Here is a quote from Duchene from January of last year. (Credit to the Denver Post for the quote)

“To this point it’s been good, but the key for me is staying hungry — which I don’t think is a very hard thing to do — and not getting complacent,” Duchene said Monday after practice. “I want to put the same work in every day and focus on the same goals. It’s tough to score a lot of goals in this league for a reason. It takes a lot of consistency, and not just physically, but mentally too. It’s a lot of hard work at and away from the rink, and I have to continue to do it because (scoring goals) is my role on this team.


Duchene has all ways had the skill, speed and talent to do incredible jaw dropping things.. Here is one of those plays from 2011 season..



This is the year that he pulls it all together mentally and physically to have the best season of his entire NHL career. Lets remember he is only 25 years old. While Duchene is just entering the prime of his career I am getting the popcorn ready. This is going to be a fun time to be an Avalanche fan again.

This team has done so much to improve with its free agent signings and young player development It still baffles me how Roy could walk away before this season started. He may not see what I am seeing but this is a young, talented, fast, physical, hungry team that is ready to show the rest of the league they have arrived.