Haliburton’s Matt Duchene is sticking with the NHL’s Dallas Stars for another season after penning a one-year, $3 million, contract extension with the team July 1.

News broke mid-afternoon on Canada Day that the 33-year-old Duchene will return to the Stars, who took losing Stanley Cup finalist Edmonton Oilers to seven games in the Western Conference final last month.

It’s an identical contract to the one Duchene signed last summer, shortly after being bought out of the remaining three years of his $8 million per year deal with the Nashville Predators.

The speedy playmaker enjoyed a good season in Dallas, contributing 25 goals and 40 assists in 80 games while skating, primarily, on the team’s second line. It’s the fourth time Duchene has eclipsed the 60-point threshold in 15 pro-league seasons. He was a factor on the man advantage for the Stars, which boasted the league’s ninth-best powerplay. Duchene finished the year with 16 powerplay points.

He figures to be a middle-six option for the Stars next season, where he’ll likely be back alongside fellow veterans Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin.

Duchene became the 387th player to join the NHL’s millennium club last year, making his 1,000th pro appearance Dec. 7 against the Washington Capitals.

Speaking to The Highlander then, Duchene said it was always his goal to stay in Dallas.

“My family and I really like it here… the idea around a one-year deal [was] to try something out and see if it fit. So far, it’s been great,” Duchene said.

With the Stars having limited cap space and seemingly focusing on defence during free agency – signing former Toronto Maple Leaf Ilya Lyubushkin to a three-year deal with a $3.25 million average annual value (AAV) and Matt Dumba to a two-year contract carrying a $3.75 million AAV – they only committed to one more season with Duchene.

So, it’ll be a return to familiarity for number 95 who will hope to compete, again, for the Stanley Cup next spring and add to his 809 NHL points.