Matt Duchene heard all the warnings.
Everything will change after you hit 30, they said. Even elite athletes can't outrun Father Time.
Maybe not. But Duchene, at least, is making the man wait.
With his 31st birthday looming in January, the Nashville Predators' star is enjoying a career revival. And it's come not a moment too soon.
Since being drafted third overall by Colorado in 2009, Duchene had been an upper-echelon NHL scorer. Putting up 20-plus goals and 55-plus points each season was the standard. But since signing a seven-year, $56 million free agent contract with Nashville in July 2019, Duchene had produced just 19 goals and 55 points through 100 games leading into the 2021-22 campaign.