Although he was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Matvichuk was raised in the nearby city of Fort Saskatchewan.[2][3] Matvichuk was drafted eighth overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Minnesota North Stars, and made the transition, along with several other players, including Mike Modano and Derian Hatcher, to the franchise's move to Dallas, and played 733 regular season games as a Dallas Star.[2][4][5] Matvichuk played 12 years for the Stars, scoring 38 goals and 129 assists, although with a rather low average of penalty minutes compared with his physical style of play.[2][6]
Matvichuk was also a part of the 1999Stanley Cup winning team which brought Dallas their first championship trophy.[2] He became a free agent in the 2004 NHL offseason.[2] He was later signed by the New Jersey Devils, making a similar Stars-to-Devils transition as Jamie Langenbrunner and Joe Nieuwendyk.[2][4][7] He missed all but the last game of the 2006–07 season after having back surgery.[2] He was released by the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2008 preseason, when he was there on a tryout basis.[8]