The NHL Network continued their list of the top 20 players at each position on Monday morning by listing the top 20 wingers. And once again, a Dallas Stars player found his way onto the list.
The Dallas Stars have been lucky when it comes to their history of captains.
Since the franchise moved to Dallas before the 1993-94 season, the Stars have boasted six different captains over 25 years. While that may seem like a relatively high number, it’s actually one of the lower totals throughout the NHL over that span.
And unlike some other teams, the Stars have had a handful of truly dedicated captains that became deeply rooted in the organization.
Derian Hatcher (captain from 1994-2003) was a towering enforcer on the blue line that helped Dallas win their first Stanley Cup in 1999. Neal Broten was only captain in Dallas for a short time but has his number retired in the rafters of the AAC. Mike Modano just happened to become one of the greatest American-born players in the history of the NHL. And finally, Brenden Morrow became a homegrown and dedicated hero for the Dallas Stars, captaining them for seven seasons.
Puck Prose
For the past five years, the Stars have lived in the Jamie Benn captaincy era. And for all of the criticism and judgement he’s taken over the past few seasons, he’s done a tremendous job while wearing the C.
As a former fifth-round pick, Benn’s faced a much tougher uphill battle in working his way to NHL stardom than most of the players in today’s league. But he’s found a way to not only build himself up and adapt, but also thrive.
He started his NHL career in 2009-10 by playing a complete 82-game slate and tallying 41 points in less than 15 minutes on the ice per game on average.
As Benn continued to become an NHL regular, his skills also became increasingly detailed and diverse. And now that he’s the longest tenured Star on the 2018-19 roster, it’s clear as to why.
Benn is the complete package for an NHL forward. He’s a smooth and speedy skater, has excellent puck handling skills, can make his own space, owns a killer shot, can play as a setup man, knows how to get physical in both zones and isn’t afraid to fight, can play both winger and center, plays solid and structured defense, and can help out on the power play and penalty kill.
There aren’t many left wingers in the NHL that are good at all of those things, so it comes as a testament to just how rare and unique of a player Benn is. It seems as though the NHL Network is thinking along the same lines.
As part of their summer countdown coverage, the network is releasing a list of the Top 20 players at each position right now. They’ve already done the top 20 centers list where Tyler Seguin rang in at ninth and the top 20 defenders list where John Klingberg came in at eighth.
On Monday morning, they released their list of the top 20 wingers in the league right now. Jamie Benn made his way onto the list, and actually finished higher than both Seguin and Klingberg.
Start your morning with a good ol' debate. #NHLTopPlayers pic.twitter.com/ZmG6Wlaipk
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 20, 2018
They marked the Dallas captain as the eighth best winger in the NHL, putting him just below Patrik Laine and Claude Giroux and just above Blake Wheeler and Artemi Panarin.
Now, like we did with the center and defenseman lists, there’s a certain level of debate that can be brought into play in this situation. After all, is there a reason that Benn should be higher or lower?
More from Blackout Dallas
- Dallas Stars Traverse City Tournament: Who had great performances?
- Grushnikov and Stankoven lead Dallas Stars to 6-3 win over Columbus
- Dallas Stars prospects look to wrap up tournament with a win
- Burn the tapes: Dallas Stars prospects lose 5-1 to Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dallas Stars look to continue success today against the Maple Leafs
At this rate, we’ve already pointed out in previous posts that these ratings weigh heavily on the previous season or two. Tyler Seguin had another impressive season in 2017-18 and fell into the same vicinity on the list as the offseason before. John Klingberg put together an incredible performance until the last few weeks of the season and earned a top 10 spot in the rankings.
It’s why players like Taylor Hall and Patrik Laine cracked the top 10 on the wingers list.
Jamie Benn didn’t necessarily have an amazing 2017-18 campaign, but it was still a solid one. He finished with 36 goals and 79 points while playing a full 82-game slate. Benn also posted a +20 rating along with 22 points on the power play and two shorthanded points as well as 140 hits.
He fell short of his 41-goal, 89-point career-high performance in 2015-16, but that by no means diminishes an otherwise impressive performance from the captain. Still, there were other wingers who had bigger performances on the stat sheet than Benn, including some that came in below him in the rankings.
But that doesn’t mean he should be any lower. The reason Benn is ranked no. 8 overall is simply because of his indispensable value on the ice.
As stated before, Jamie Benn is a multidimensional winger that can play just about any role that the Dallas Stars need. He’s solid on offense, defense, and special teams. He’s physical, offensively skilled, and has a driving attitude and focus when on the ice. He can play on any line and makes his line-mates better through his play.
He slipped slightly from his spot on last summer’s top wingers list where he came in at fifth overall. But Benn is still in the middle of his prime and has plenty of room left to continue building up. A new scheme could be just what he needs to build up another career year performance.
Benn is the total package that any team would want to put on their wing. And that’s why he earned the eighth spot.
The 29-year-old will enter his sixth season as captain of the Stars in 2018-19 and look to be a key factor in getting his team back to the postseason.
That’s what good wingers and captains do, after all.