Jamie Benn says he’s not interested in becoming a free agent next summer.
The Stars captain spoke after the conclusion of Dallas’ Second Round series, which they lost in seven games at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.
“This is where I want to play, this is where I want to be,” Benn told reporters. “I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”
The Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award finalist has one season remaining on his five-year, $26.25 million contract, and says he wants to avoid the season-long distraction of being an unrestricted free agent next July.
“Going into the last year of your contract, you don’t want it to be a distraction for your team,” Benn said.
The 26-year-old topped last year’s Art Ross Trophy-winning campaign with new career-highs in goals (41) and points (89) this year for second place in league scoring. He also led the Stars in playoff scoring with five goals and 10 assists in 13 post-season games.
It sounds like Stars general manager Jim Nill is on the same page with his team’s captain — the GM told Dallas media he’d like to get to work on contract talks soon, too.
So, how big a raise might Benn be looking at? Many are pointing to Anze Kopitar‘s eight-year, $80 million extension with the Los Angeles Kings. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox suggests using whatever amount Steven Stamkos lands in free agency this summer as a starting point.
“I’ve got to meet with Jamie over the next week or 10 days. Going to start discussing that and then I’ll get a hold of his people,” Nill said. “It’s something we’d like to start up, if it’s something we can get done in July, August.”
