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GUITAR HERO

Eventually, Matt Duchene will get out of his deep slump, but maybe his bumpy entry into the Senators lineup has the makings of a decent hurtin’ country tune. By all accounts, Duchene has a gift with the guitar. “I do more in the summer because during the season, I’m a little too dialed in hockey-wise, but I will pick (the guitar) up now and again. I have a nice acoustic I play all the time in the summer and I have to get it from Haliburton down to Ottawa.”

LIFE OF THE SUMMER PARTY

Duchene says much of his off-season centres around his guitar. “I play around the campfire, I always pick my buddies’ favourites and the songs we listen to on the boat when we’re fishing and polish those up and pull them out at the fire.”

Duchene got his start from his father — “a very talented musician” — when he was 14 and has received a few pointers from friends in the music industry along the way. “It’s definitely a passion of mine, whether it’s listening or playing. Country music is one of the staples of my life.”

TAVARES’ FUTURE OFF THE RADAR

While Karlsson’s blunt talk about getting his fair value in his next contract — whether it’s in Ottawa or somewhere else — has caused a stir, the Islanders hot start is helping deflect the elephant in the room: Whether John Tavares re-signs before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Tavares isn’t talking, but it’s believed the Islanders’ proposal to build a new arena at Belmont Park will play a role in his decision. Does the current on-ice success make a difference? “It’s hard to leave a team that is expecting to win every night and is being successful,” right winger Cal Clutterbuck told Newsday this week. “It’s just a different feeling from the last couple of years. There’s a certain amount of ease as far as the group is with Johnny. There’s a clear desire for him to want to stick around with these guys and there’s a checklist of things he wants done, and honestly, probably those are things that a lot of the guys in this room want done.”