Jamie Benn - Vegas Golden Knights v Dallas Stars - Game Six

Will Jamie Benn stay with the Dallas Stars next season? Analyzing his next move after disappointing playoff exit

Modified Jun 02, 2023 17:22 GMT

A lot of talk around the hockey world lately has involved Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn and rightfully so.

In the first minutes of Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, Benn committed an ugly cross-checking penalty on a defenseless Mark Stone. Benn was handed a five-minute major and a game misconduct and was later suspended for two games.

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In those two games, the Dallas Stars came out on top, their only two wins of the series. When Benn returned for Game 6, Dallas was demolished 6-0 in a series-clinching victory for the Vegas Golden Knights.

Jamie Benn is the longest-tenured captain in franchise history, dating back to 2013. He has spent his entire career in Dallas and become the face of the franchise after playing as a kid with so many Stars legends.

After Tyler Seguin was traded to Dallas in 2013, Benn and Seguin were the hottest duo in hockey. Benn tallied a career-high 79 points that season and followed that up with the first and only Art Ross Trophy for his franchise (awarded to the player with the most points during the regular season).

The next year, Benn reached 89 points, two better than his award-winning season. He, along with Seguin, was rewarded with a massive contract extension of eight years, $76 million.

But then things began to slow down. A few injuries resulted in less speed, less confidence, and fewer results. After hitting 79 points again in 2017-18, Benn failed to reach 55 points over the next four seasons. Benn and Seguin began to take a lot of heat from the media, fans, and employees within their own franchise. They simply were not scoring enough to warrant their huge salary cap hits.

Then Pete DeBoer came along in 2022-23. DeBoer immediately let his captain know that his plan for the team included Benn taking a far lighter load of minutes per game, mostly to leave room for the plethora of skilled young players on the roster. Rather than argue, Benn took on the role with pride and completely transformed his game.

In 2022-23, Benn recorded 33 goals and 78 points, the most since 2017-18 by far. He finished second only to Jason Robertson in both categories. He also helped develop both Wyatt Johnston and Ty Dellandrea and led the Dallas Stars by example.

It seems unlikely that Jamie Benn will leave Dallas in the offseason, unless they feel they can replace him and build for the future.

Trading Jamie Benn has its pros and cons for the Dallas Stars

So if Benn was so good, why even talk about trading him? Because while he was a far more valuable player this season, he is still an aging veteran taking up a lot of cap space. Benn has two more seasons left on his eight-year contract, meaning he will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2024-25 season.

The reality is that Dallas could likely use that money to pay some of their younger players while also adding some outside help to boost the lineup.

So, here is the main question that needs to be addressed: do the Dallas Stars feel they have an immediate replacement for Jamie Benn, either inside the organization or through free agency/trades?

If they do, GM Jim Nill and company will take a hard look at the future of their captain. If they don't, Jamie Benn is staying put. He provides too much value, is an excellent captain, and is still the Stars' best option in his current role.