Jamie Benn

Benn has somewhat defied the aging curve for now, following up his 78-point 2022-23 with 21 goals and 60 points over 82 regular-season games in 2023-24. The 34-year-old is a lock for 100-plus hits and ample power-play production, but his offense could go at any time with him entering his age-35 season. The good news for the Stars is that they no longer rely on Benn to carry the offense, though he's had no trouble chipping in while playing alongside and mentoring the next potential face of the franchise Wyatt Johnston. Given Benn has shot over 12 percent in all but four of his NHL campaigns, his 12.8 shooting percentage last year was not out of line. Expect 20 goals, 55-60 points and some rough stuff with PIM and hits, but Benn may be best passed over for younger options with more upside in fantasy drafts.

With his best year since 2017-18, Dallas enjoyed a Bennaissance last season. Benn produced 33 goals and 45 assists in 82 contests, fueled by 30 power-play points to match his career best in the category. Some may see this as the Stars' influx of young talent lifting Benn, but it's important to note that his 17.4 shooting percentage was a career high. He'll be 34 years old for all of 2023-24, so expecting a nearly point-per-game pace from the forward may be asking too much. A steady power-play role and a diminished but still physical style should help him maintain enough value for fantasy managers, but a 2023-24 campaign in the 20-25 goal and 50-55 point ranges should be considered a good one -- he can't defy Father Time forever.

Probably the most positive thing you can say about Benn's 2021-22 campaign is that he played in all 82 of Dallas' regular-season games at age 32. His 16 goals and 46 points marked the lowest totals for any year in which he played 70-plus games since his rookie season of 2009-10. Benn's 2:03 worth of power-play time per game was also his lowest mark since his freshman year. The Stars didn't add much in terms of offensive firepower this summer, and if the club wouldn't use Benn a ton with the man advantage last season, it's hard to see why they would do it now. Benn is typically good for about 150 hits over the course of a campaign, so he might be able to carve out late-round value in league's which value them.

Benn saw only a slight dip to 35 points in 52 contests last year after producing 39 points in 69 outings the year before. However, it was a third straight season of offensive decline. The encouraging sign is the 32-year-old shot at a career-low 8.9 percent -- that should put him in line for some positive regression in 2021-22. Also in Benn's favor is a lighter workload following the emergence of Roope Hintz and Jason Robertson as legitimate top-line options. With the chance to play easier minutes as part of the Stars' balanced offense, Benn could be in line for a bounce-back year to around 50-55 points with a strong shot volume and ample physicality. He's not likely to fall far in fantasy drafts due to name recognition, but he could make for a late-round steal if he's put in a more forgiving position.

Benn saw his scoring totals drop for the second straight year in 2019-20, posting 19 goals and 20 helpers in 69 appearances. Those represented his lowest outputs since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. He's just two years removed from a 36-goal, 79-point campaign in 2017-18, but Benn has also seen his ice time drop 3:23 per game since that year. The Stars have a reputation for spreading ice time pretty evenly between their forward lines -- if that continues, it could limit the 31-year-old Benn's ability to produce like a true top-line player. He should still be able to perform at a 50-point pace in 2020-21, but fantasy managers should be mindful not to overpay based on name recognition on draft day. On the bright side, his value will continue to be bolstered by decent totals in shots on goal and hits.

While the Stars returned to the playoffs under rookie head coach Jim Montgomery last season, Benn didn't seem to quite click with his new boss' system. The 30-year-old saw 18:14 of average ice time, his smallest workload since 2011-12, and his production sagged. He was even the target, along with Tyler Seguin, of a post-Christmas tirade from CEO Jim Lites and owner Tom Gaglardi. While Benn still wound up with 27 goals, his 53 points were his lowest total in a full season since he was a rookie. The front office went all in on a Stanley Cup push this offseason, bringing in Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry, which could be bad news for Benn -- if he isn't reunited with Seguin and Alexander Radulov on the top line, it will be that much harder for his numbers to rebound.

Benn rebounded nicely from a somewhat subpar (by his standards) 2016-17, just missing his third career 35-goal, 80-point season by a single tally. The 29-year-old forms one of the NHL's elite partnerships with Tyler Seguin, and last year's addition of Alexander Radulov gave the duo a winger who could do more than merely keep up with them. Benn is comfortable on the flank or at center, his usual spot with the man advantage, and that role has allowed him to average 24 power-play points a season since 2013-14. He's also one of the most consistently dangerous snipers in the league -- while the average shooting percentage is typically around nine percent, Benn routinely clocks in at 13 percent or higher. Still in the early days of the eight-year extension he signed two offseasons ago, Benn should remain a pillar of the Stars' attack for the foreseeable future.

While the club never officially acknowledged that there was an issue, Benn wasn't himself through the first part of the 2016-17 campaign, managing only 13 goals and 41 points in his first 46 games with a minus-10 rating as he seemed to have a slow recovery from abdominal surgery last July. His play picked up in the second half, though, including seven goals and 16 points through 12 games in February, and the Stars’ offseason additions up front should provide the 28-year-old with an improved supporting cast that will allow him to rebound to his accustomed 85-90-point level. Benn remains the heart of the franchise, and if the Stars return to contention this season, he'll need to lead the way.

After setting the league on fire with an NHL-best 87 points two seasons ago, Benn went out last year and one-upped himself, sketching out new personal marks with 41 goals and 89 points, and he did it despite spending 10 games without the assistance of top center Tyler Seguin. More than a full third of his production came on the power play, with only the unstoppable Patrick Kane besting Benn’s 30 points on the man advantage (although to be fair, Brent Burns and Nicklas Backstrom tied him). Of course, Benn’s pretty unstoppable himself – he rarely goes a game without finding the scoresheet, and he rounds out that offense with PIM (exactly 64 three years running) and hits (in which he just set a new career high, 156). At 27 years old, Benn’s right smack in the middle of his prime; there’s no reason he shouldn’t remain one of the league’s finest scorers for quite a few years to come, with this summer’s eight-year contract extension locking him in with Dallas well into his 30s.

Who led the NHL in points last year? It wasn't Sidney Crosby. It wasn't Alex Ovechkin. It wasn't John Tavares. No, it was Benn, the unheralded superstar, who racked up new career highs with 35 goals, 52 assists, and 87 points despite toiling away for a Dallas team that struggled mightily to win games and didn't quite get a full season out of top-line co-star Tyler Seguin. Those two will return atop the Stars' first line along with a new member, Patrick Sharp, imported from Chicago over the offseason, and there's no reason to think that Benn won't challenge 80 points this season as well, as long as he recovers in time from his April surgery on both hips. Benn is reportedly on track to be ready in time for the start of the season, so don't drop him on your draft boards.

Jamie Benn? Oh, you mean international superstar Jamie Benn. Last season, Benn revealed himself to be an elite talent playing beside Tyler Seguin in what was one of the NHL's hottest duos. He set career marks in goals (34), assists (45), plus/minus (plus-21), penalty minutes (64) and shots (279), and his star is still on the rise. The addition of Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky gives the Stars a tough second line that opposing teams will need to take seriously, and one that may draw pressure away from the Benn-Seguin line. So, look out -- this guy doesn't need much time or space to make offense happen and extra time to execute will only help him pad his even-strength totals. And the addition of Spezza to the team's power play will mean increased production there, too. Benn is poised to have a mammoth season and needs to be drafted early.

Benn struggled for large stretches last season with the added responsibilities that come with being the No. 1 center, a move made out of necessity more than anything else. It's not that he's not talented, but he's more comfortable in his natural spot on the wing. One of Dallas' offseason goals was to acquire a top-line center to allow Benn to move back to the right side and they get a big "mission accomplished" sign to hang up with the acquisition of Tyler Seguin. At 24 years of age, Benn is only just entering his prime and should eclipse the 30-goal plateau if he can stay healthy.

Benn built upon his impressive sophomore season, setting career highs across the board last year. He also took on added responsbility in the defensive zone as the season waned and Mike Ribiero proved to be a liability in that area. The (essentially) Ribeiro-for-Derek Roy offseason swap will afford Benn more minutes in the offensive zone than last year. He's far and away Dallas' best one-on-one threat and his emergence among the NHL elite figures to continue in 2012-13.

Benn's emergence last year (22 G, 34 A in 69 games) made James Neal expendable when Dallas was looking to bolster the blue line, but the departure of Brad Richards could shift Benn to a second-line center role and put more focus on him from opposing checking lines as a result. He's a young, proven goal scorer that built upon a nice rookie season and figures to approach the 30-goal plateau in his third season.

Benn was asked to shift from a wing to center early in the season and took to the move well. While the shift took him off one of Dallas' top two lines, his production never waned (22 G, 19 A). He's expected to begin the year as Dallas' No.3 center again this season, but he should be able to take a step forward in his sophomore season.

Benn enters the 2009-10 season as Dallas' best scoring prospect now that James Neal has estsablished himself in the NHL. Benn will need a monster camp, much like Neal did last season, in order to break camp with the team. Benn netted 46 goals in 56 games, good for fifth in the WHL despite missing some time for Team Canada duties. He led the WHL in scoring during the Memorial Cup (13G, 20A), and will begin his professional career this season.

Benn remains Dallas' top forward prospect, but he's expected to go back to his junior team in the WHL for another season before officially turning pro. He lead all scorers in goals in the preseason Traverse City prospects tournament.