The Dallas Stars might need to start searching for the next captain shortly. Jamie Benn is going to come to a point where he wants to retire and enjoy being a parent. While usually teams wait and have teammates vote on the next captain, the Stars would like to start making a shortlist of players who could be a good captain once Benn calls it a career. Wyatt Johnston is a name that comes to mind as a player who could take over Benn's spot as captain.
However, while my ADHD brain was randomly thinking about the future of the Stars, I saw one player with the C on his sweater who sounds plausible as the next captain of the Dallas Stars, Mikko Rantanen. As he begins his eight-year contract next season, he's been through a lot as a player and had to step up when things went sideways in Colorado with Gabriel Landeskog's injury. He would be the perfect veteran player to take over the reins as captain of the Dallas Stars.
He's been an assistant captain for the past five seasons with the Colorado Avalanche. That means he's been a vocal leader in the locker room with their rookies and other players. It's something that would qualify him to become a captain in the NHL. The Stars will need someone other than Benn to lead this team into the future, and why not have someone who is guaranteed to be here the next decade? Rantanen has already revived the hockey scene around Dallas after his hat trick in Game 7 against the Avalanche in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
We are far off from having to decide on who will be the next captain of the franchise because Nill wants to make Benn a Star for life. However, if Benn wants to be a Star for life, he's going to have to take a drastic pay cut this offseason. The Stars need to sign other players like Mikael Granlund and Matt Duchene before they get to Benn with the little salary cap they have this offseason. Luckily, Dallas will get a bump in the salary cap next offseason, and that will help them.
For now, Benn is the captain until the day he retires or signs with another team. Unless his teammates think it would be in the best interest to have a new voice lead the team, Benn will have the C on his sweater next season and beyond. However, I can't stop thinking about how Rantanen would be a perfect heir to the captaincy of the Stars once Benn retires. While everyone thinks Wyatt is the next in line, don't count out Rantanen because of the short time he's been here.