A captain is, by definition, the person in command of a ship. While that captain may not be the most vocal at all times, they may lead by example and find themselves at the helm through rough and calm waters all the same. Jamie Benn was named the captain of the Dallas Stars on September 19, 2013, and on Tuesday night in Edmonton, Benn opened up the scoring en route to an 8-3 thumping of the demons to the Stars known as the Oilers. The goal would be Benn’s 400th and become another feather in the cap of his captaincy with the Stars.
A captaincy that has seen Benn transform from a hard-hitting glove-dropping menace to a quiet lead-by-example type of player. Benn was only 24 when he was named captain and has surpassed 1,000 games played and is en route to 1,000 regular-season points. (Currently sitting at 957 points as of Tuesday night.) A two-time NHL All-Star and an Art Ross Trophy winner, Benn has been on the cusp of a Stanley Cup and knocking on the door of multiple Stanley Cup Finals, and continues to push to break that barrier and finally achieve the ultimate goal of lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup with the Dallas Stars.
Jason Franson / AP
A true homegrown talent, Benn has spent his entire career in the Dallas Stars system, having been the 129th overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He would quickly become a fan favorite in what, in my eyes, is still one of the greatest fights of all time with Jerome Iginla. (Huge Iginla guy here, so consider me biased.)
Fast forward to the defeat the Stars suffered in the bubble Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and where you saw what the team, the sport, and the drive meant to Benn as he sat in the locker room alone, still in full pads, while everyone had washed off the loss and moved on. Dejected but starving to achieve his ultimate goal.
At the sake of rambling, consider this my congratulations to Benn on an already solid career, not just as a captain but as a player. Time will tell if we get the image of the Cup raised above his head.
Stars Bits
A few notes as the Stars take on the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday night.
Mikko Rantanen will make his return to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension.
No word on Matt Duchene’s return to the ice as he is still considered day-to-day.
The Stars finally dropped their third jersey on Tuesday (albeit seemingly prematurely, as they were leaked just a few hours before the team made the official announcement that was expected on Wednesday), dubbed “The ‘99,” the third jersey is an ode to the Stanley Cup Championship team in 1999. A classy combination of the current color scheme with the timeless design of the 90s.
Wyatt Johnston tallied his 100th NHL assist and 200th NHL point on Tuesday night in Edmonton.
As of writing this, I have not seen any news on a Robertson contract extension, but as always, it is something to keep an eye on with Robertson setting the record for goals in consecutive games in Stars history with 7 against the Oilers on Tuesday night.
Trade Rambling (by Fink)
It’s always fun to throw some names in the hat of potential trades Jim Nill could make at the deadline, so why not start now?
While Blake Coleman’s contract doesn’t favor the Dallas Stars current cap situation, another Stanley Cup-experienced winger never hurt anyone. Not to mention the fact that you could see a “hometown bump” in production with Coleman being born and raised just outside of Dallas in Plano, Texas.
This trade would be purely for the vibes, with the Stars garnering a slew of young talent depth at both left and right wing currently. Seeing how the Flames season is currently going up in just that, Flames, Calgary could be coerced to retain a chunk of the contract to dump the remaining time Coleman is to serve in Calgary and open up the position for younger prospects to get more time at the NHL level.
The Morning Skate 