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The Dallas Stars are entering a disappointing offseason after losing in the Western Conference Final for the third consecutive year. Pete DeBoer is out as the head coach, and there could be a couple of free agents following him out the door this summer.
But two of their most important ones — that being longtime captain Jamie Benn, along with Matt Duchene — would both prefer to stay in Texas, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported on Wednesday.
“Jamie Benn’s agent, Bayne Pettinger, was slated to speak with Stars GM Jim Nill about the pending UFA captain before the end of this week. There’s mutual interest in getting a deal done,” the hockey insider wrote. “Ditto with pending UFA Matt Duchene as far as ongoing discussions; his preference would be to stay in Dallas if possible.”
Both Benn and Duchene have said they hope to sign new contracts with the team, but that will be easier said than done considering the Stars have only $5 million in cap space to work with, per Puck Pedia.
There are also five other unrestricted free agents on the roster, including Evgenii Dadonov, Mikael Granlund, Colin Blackwell, Brendan Smith and Cody Ceci.
To recoup some cap space, it's been reported that general manager Jim Nill has been taking calls on both Mason Marchment ($4.5 million AAV) and Jason Robertson ($7.75 million AAV), but there's no guarantee either of those forwards gets traded.
The squad could look quite a bit different in 2025-26, but if Benn and Duchene are willing to take team-friendly deals, it's very possible that both players will be back in Texas this fall.
Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene don't want to leave Stars
“I’d love to stay here and make it work,” Duchene said last week, via NHL.com's Taylor Baird. “I’m in a little different place maybe this year than I was last year looking at things. I believe in this group and I want to be here. I know how close we are.”
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“I'm going into the summer planning on playing next year,” echoed Benn. “I don't see myself playing anywhere else.”
Benn has spent his entire career with the Stars after being selected with the 129th overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft. He was named the sixth captain in franchise history in September of 2013 and has held the honor for longer than almost any other captain.
It would certainly be odd to see Benn in any other jersey, but it was a tough season for the veteran. He managed just 49 points in 80 games and struggled mightily in the playoffs, chipping in just three points in 18 games.
As for Duchene, he had a great regular season, playing at a point-per-game pace and managing 30 goals and 82 points in 82 games. But he also had a real tough playoff, scoring just once and adding five assists in 18 games.
The Stars need to figure out how to get over the hump in the postseason, and neither Benn or Duchene helped much in that department, combining for just nine points in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
But both players clearly want to return, and it'll be interesting to see if the front office can bring the veterans back for 2025-26.
