Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill announced Thursday that the club has signed forward Matt Duchene to a four-year, $18 million contract extension with a $4.5 million AAV.

“We are thrilled to have Matt back with our organization,” Nill said in a statement released by the team. “As our team’s leading scorer last season, he helped to solidify our forward group while also providing invaluable leadership off the ice and in the community. The fit with Matt and our team has been seamless from the start, and we’re looking forward to continuing to pursue our shared goal of bringing a championship to Dallas.”

Duchene, 34, was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 after signing two consecutive one-year deals with Dallas the past two seasons. Duchene told the media in his exit interview that he wanted some security for his family.

“As a family, I think my kids are getting to a point where you’re looking for some stability, so one-year deals are tough,” Duchene said. “I’ve really enjoyed being here. I’ve gotten great feedback about things, and hopefully, we can continue to move forward.”

He now has a four-year contract, including a no-move clause for the first two seasons and a five-team approved trade list the rest of the way.

Duchene finished second behind only Mikko Rantanen with 82 points in 82 games. He scored 30 goals for just the third time in his 16-year NHL career and tallied a career-high 52 assists. In the playoffs, he struggled to find offense with only one goal and six points. Duchene has 12 points in 37 playoff games with Dallas.

Check out the DLLS Stars emergency pod from this morning below, and tune into our full show at 1 pm CT Thursday to hear plenty more breakdown!