Jamie Benn may have just become one of the richest players in the NHL, but he also saved his organization a year-long headache.
On Friday, Benn signed a massive eight-year, $76-million contract extension with the Dallas Stars, removing him from 2017’s free agent pool and sparing the team the nightmare that the Tampa Bay Lightning just lived through prior to re-signing superstar Steven Stamkos.
It’s a decadent deal, and one that eclipses the dollars Stamkos signed for, but Stars GM Jim Nill says that it’s one that works for the team.
“When you’re building a franchise, there’s certain players that are important to the franchise and he’s as good as anybody there is,” Nill said to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News after the announcement of the signing. “He’s one of the top players in the NHL, one of the top forwards. He’s in the prime of his career. He’s the leader of our team, and he’s a great person on top of it, so we’re very fortunate here in Dallas.”
There’s little to argue with Nill’s assertion that Benn is in the upper echelon of NHL forwards. He won the 2014-15 Art Ross trophy, finished among Hart Trophy finalists in 2015-16, beat career highs with 41 goals and 89 points last season and has 448 points in 508 career games.
Now, he’s also among the elite in contract dollars, and not looking out of place. His $9.5-million cap hit (starting in 2017-18) is identical to that of Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and only trails four others: Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Alex Ovechkin and Anze Kopitar. He now makes more per season than Sidney Crosby, P.K. Subban and Corey Perry.
“There’s different factors come into play and part of the negotiation, there was a number that both parties would be happy with,” said Nill. “It’s a number that worked well for Jamie and it really works well for us. I get back to Jamie wants to make sure this is a winning team, and that number helps us to continue to grow our team and put a good team on the ice.
“We know both parties are very happy.”
The Stars now have just over $6.5 million in cap space with notable Valerie Nichushkin still unsigned as an RFA. Patrick Sharp, Ales Hemsky and Patrick Eaves will be UFAs on July 1, 2017 should extensions not be reached.
“We’ve talked to [Nichushkin’s] agent,” said Nill. “We’ve exchanged offers and just going through the process. … We pride ourselves on open dialogue with the players and with the agents, and think we’ve had success because of that.”
While Dallas finished second overall in the NHL last season, they had trouble keeping the puck out of the net. Nill has told reporters this summer that goaltending is not entirely to blame, though a move to improve that area would not surprise many. The signing of defenceman Dan Hamhuis to an affordable two-year, $3.75-million deal could help a great deal in terms of goals against.
“I think this is the start of something good down the road for us,” said Nill.
