Stars’ Jamie Benn to make season debut vs. Islanders

Benn had missed just ten games for the Stars since the beginning of the 2017-18 season. His availability has been a skill throughout his 16-year NHL career, but Year 17 has not started yet. With the Islanders coming to town, Benn will take his first shifts of the season.

The Stars have 27 points in 19 games, a solid pace to start the season. The Stanley Cup cannot be won in November. But the Stars have done enough to stay in the race without their captain. They have made the Western Conference Final three years in a row, but have not returned to the Stanley Cup Final since 2020.

The Stars just lost Thomas Harley for some time immediately after signing him to an expensive extension. Benn won’t do anything to help paper over that loss, but it is reassuring to get some injury luck back in their favor. The Islanders represent a winnable game for Dallas that could see Benn get on the scoresheet in his first game.

The future of the Stars is interesting, and it may not include Benn. He signed an incentive-heavy $1 million deal to come back to Dallas this offseason. But with Harley’s extension hitting the books next year, they may be out of space to keep their captain. If this is his swan song, Benn hopes to get started hot and end with the Stanley Cup over his head in June.

The Stars and Islanders begin at 7 p.m. Central on Tuesday.