NHL Network: Elliotte Friedman notes that the leadership is shifting away from the Dallas Stars veterans towards the younger group, but GM Jim Nill wants Jamie Benn with the team as long as he’s there, and Benn wants to stay.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Dan Rosen: “… You see the list here. Jamie Benn. Last year of Jamie Benn. What do you think happens with Jamie Benn in Dallas? Longtime captain.”
Friedman: “I think, well, Jim Nill said at the beginning of the season, Dan, that as long as he’s there, Jamie Benn is going to stay there. And I think that there is an understanding there that (a) the Stars really like Benn. They think he’s really important. He’s still a very effective player, and he has embraced the young kids.
Like this is a team where the leadership is shifting, right? It’s going kind of away from the veterans to the (Miro) Heiskanen, Wyatt Johnston, (Jason) Robertson, Logan, well, of course, obviously, obviously, you have to mention the number one center too. And then Logan Stankoven is coming now as well. Look, definitely called.
So it’s shifting there. And I think Ben recognizes that. I think he’s very happy there. I think the Stars want him to stay long-term. And I do believe if everybody wants this to work, I’ve been told it’s going to work, that Benn wants to stay and they want him to stay.
But I think what we’re doing here is we’re kind of figuring out the numbers. Okay, now we know what (Jake) Oettingers number is, what is Johnston’s number going to be? What is Robertson’s number going to be? We know what (Roope) Hintz is.
So I think it’s all becoming a piece of the puzzle. And from what I understand, the Stars and Benn are very comfortable with letting it play out that way and finding a good number later.
EJ Hradek: “And fortunately for both parties, the salary cap will be going up, so it gives them a little bit more room moving forward. And I agree with you, having been around Dallas, having used to live there, I mean, Jamie Benn, he’s, he likes it there. They like having there. So I would kind of tend to agree with that. We’ll see how it does play out in the end.