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Dallas Stars: Jordie Benn’s Chances Of Starting Opening Night

By Josh Clark

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The Dallas Stars defense is in store for a compelling season ahead. The 2015-2016 season will be filled with doubt, questions, hopefulness, and overall uncertainty in regards to the Stars blue line.

Last season did not go as planned, as everyone knows. The Stars, fresh off of a playoff appearance in 2014, once again made big noise in the offseason by adding veteran center Jason Spezza to the roster. Neither part of their scheme had a truly strong season in 2013-2014. Instead, both the offense and defense were just a little above average, and that translated into a playoff berth.

When 2014-2015 rolled around, questions arose regarding the status of the Dallas Stars defense and whether or not their current lineup of primarily youth would be able to succeed in the thick of the Central division.

Turns out the questions were legitimate. The Stars defense had a horrendous time trying to stay above water throughout the majority of the 2014-2015 season. With unexperienced prospects trying to make an impact and not completely succeeding, the Stars blue line was disappointing. At one point in the year, the Stars were ranked 30th in goals against, which helped contribute to them missing out on the postseason. By the end of the season, they had somewhat salvaged their stats and finished in 26th place.

So the Stars obviously had to do something to fix their defensive issues before the 2015-2016 season became a year of repeats. As a result, the Stars picked up Blackhawks free agent Johnny Oduya. While they did lose two-way threat Trevor Daley in a trade, Oduya will definitely add to the veteran leadership on the blue line.

In line behind Oduya are veterans Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers. But there is another defenseman that could be considered a veteran. That player is Jordie Benn.

Benn started his first game for the Dallas Stars back in 2012, but it was only for a short, three-game series before returning to the AHL. In the 2013 lockout season, he began the year with the team and ended up playing about half the season. He logged one goal and six points along with a -4 on-ice rating.

He would return in the 2013-2014 season as a full-time member and would truly make some strides towards becoming a consistent defenseman. Benn scored three goals and tallied 20 points through 78 games. This included a +16 on-ice rating, which was the best among defensemen and tied for third on the team. He averaged 19:09 on the ice per game through the season, while primarily playing on the second defensive pairing.

The 2014-2015 season rolled around and presented an opportunity for Jordie Benn to take the next step in his NHL career. Instead, Benn never seemed to be able to get going. After suffering a slow start and being moved around because of it, Benn would eventually find a compatible partner in Jason Demers, and the two would form a decent third pairing.

Jordie Benn is not an offensive defenseman, like some on the Stars roster. Instead, Benn is primarily a stay-at-home defender that looks to primarily work in his own zone.

But when he only puts up two goals and 16 points in 73 games throughout 2014-2015, as well as getting down to a -11 at one point and ending with a -5, there is reason to worry and question.

Most remember 2014-2015 as the year that everything was somehow Jordie Benn’s fault. Whether it was a mistimed shift, losing his man, or letting the game-tying goal go in off his skate against the Islanders with 1.1 seconds remaining, Benn always seemed to find the blame.

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The Stars are currently in the middle of a trial-and-error rebuild on the blue line. Last season was painful, but it did have a silver lining. That silver lining was the fact that plenty of rookies and second-years received plenty of playing time and experience at the NHL level, which translates to being more successful in the upcoming year.

At this point, the Dallas Stars will go into training camp with nine NHL-ready defensemen. These players are as follows:

Johnny Oduya

John Klingberg

Alex Goligoski

Jason Demers

Jyrki Jokipakka

Patrik Nemeth

Jordie Benn

Jamie Oleksiak

Stephen Johns

While there are nine players in competition, only six spots remain open on the blue line. The Stars will more than likely keep seven on the roster and rotate, as well as saving one for injury purposes or declining play.

Jordie Benn will need to certainly step up in training camp and the preseason if he wants to earn a starting spot. He has plenty of competition in his way that are just as hungry as he is. But Benn has plenty of potential left to prove, and he just needs to find a way to let it out.

Oduya, Klingberg, Goligoski, and Demers are locks for starting spots, barring anything crazy happening. The rest is up in the air. Nemeth and Benn were both considered starters at the beginning of last season, while Jokipakka and Oleksiak dueled for NHL playing time. Johns is a new recruit from the Blackhawks system, but is showing his strengths in the Traverse City Tournament.

It will be interesting to see what happens, but Benn has a tough battle ahead of him. He will need to prove his legitimacy once again before a young prospect overtakes him. Entering the final year of his contract, he needs a lot of things to go right. This would be a good place to start.

Next: Jamie Benn, Ales Hemsky Missing Preseason Play For Stars?

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