Friday the Dallas Stars made a commitment to captain Jamie Benn with an eight-year, $76 million contract extension.
Benn had one year remaining on his current deal with a salary of $5.75 million. When the extension kicks in next fall, he will carry an average salary of $9.4 million per year through 2024-25. According to General Fanager, his average annual value will be the fourth-highest in the league, tying him with Evgeni Malkin. He’ll be behind division-rival Chicago’s duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews ($10.5 million each), Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar ($10 million) and Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin ($9.538 million).
On the ice, Benn deserved the deal. Last season he was second in the league with 89 points. His 41 goals were third in the NHL and also finished third in Hart Trophy voting as MVP while playing all 82 regular season games. In 2014-15 he won the Art Ross Trophy as top scorer with 87 points.
“When you’re building a franchise, there’s certain players that are important to the franchise, and he’s as good as anybody there is,” Stars GM Jim Nill said. “He’s one of the top players in the NHL, one of the top forwards. He’s in the prime of his career, he’s the leader of our team, and he’s a great person on top of it, so we’re very fortunate here in Dallas.”
He’s currently on the roster for Team Canada at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey but is recovering from an off-season workout injury he suffered. He had surgery Thursday and according to Nill the Stars won’t re-evaluate Benn until September 1. His status for the tournament is uncertain.
Selected No. 129 in the fifth round by Dallas in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Benn has 192 goals and 448 points in 508 games in seven seasons with the Stars. His 192 goals places him 10th in franchise history. For him to equal franchise leader Mike Modano’s 557 goals, he wold have to average 41 goals per season for the next nine years.
