Stars captain Jamie Benn will undergo surgery to repair a collapsed lung and will miss the start of the regular season, the club announced today. He’ll be reevaluated in four weeks, putting him out through at least Oct. 23. That’s a six-to-seven-game absence at a minimum and will presumably be longer than that while he gets back up to game speed.
Benn sustained the injury late in the third period of the club’s exhibition game against the Wild on Tuesday, the team said. It’s quite the tone shift from yesterday, when head coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters that Benn was being held out of practice with a “little upper-body thing” and that his absence was mainly precautionary, per Robert Tiffin of Stars Thoughts. His last shift of Tuesday’s game ended with 2:04 remaining in regulation. He didn’t take any contact on that shift. Still, general manager Jim Nill confirmed a hit caused the lung collapse and that he spent Tuesday night in a hospital for observation and has remained there until today’s procedure, per the team’s Brien Rea.
While Benn had the opportunity to test unrestricted free agency this summer after spending the first 16 years of his career in Dallas, he opted to stay with the club that he’s captained to three consecutive Western Conference Final appearances. He inked a one-year, $1MM extension in the last week of June that carries up to an additional $3MM in performance bonuses depending on his regular-season appearances total and playoff success. That came on the heels of an underwhelming postseason showing from the 36-year-old, who only managed a goal and two assists with a -11 rating in 18 games and had his ice time slashed to just over 13 minutes per game.
That came on the heels of a still-productive regular season from the vet, although his point pace declined for a second straight year. His 16 goals in 80 games tied for seventh on the team, while his 49 points ranked sixth. That worked out to 0.61 points per game, down from 0.95 in 2022-23 and 0.73 in 2023-24.
While aging, he’s still an undeniable top-nine threat that contributes to the nucleus of one of the league’s deepest offensive attacks. It was looking like he’d slot in on the left side of a veteran-laden third line with Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin based on early camp line combos, but there will now be open competition for that job over the next week-plus before opening-night rosters are due. Last year’s AHL standout, 24-year-old undrafted free agent Justin Hryckowian, could be the frontrunner after notching 60 points in 67 minor-league games in his first full professional season. He also managed an assist during a five-game NHL call-up. 2024 first-rounder Emil Hemming could be in line for a long look as well, in addition to elevating fourth-line names like Oskar Back, Nathan Bastian, or Colin Blackwell.
If Benn stays close to his initial timeline, he won’t miss enough time to be eligible for long-term injured reserve. That’s crucial information for a Stars club with just over $400K in cap space, leaving them without space to make any corresponding recall if Benn lands on standard IR. They’d be limited to starting the year with two extra skaters instead of three, leaving restricted maneuverability if other short-term injuries pile up.