The Dallas Stars have locked up winger Jamie Benn to an eight-year, $76 Million contract extension ($9.5 Million AAV), making the winger one of the highest paid players in the NHL.
The 26-year-old Benn had a year remaining on a five-year deal with Dallas and would have been a prime target in unrestricted free agency.
Stars GM Jim Nill announced on Friday that Benn had undergone core muscle surgery on Thursday and that his availability for the upcoming World Cup would be determined, but in agreeing to this deal, Benn's long-term future is now secure in Dallas.
*******
Yesterday we discussed this at length on the Podcast.
The question at hand is can "millennial" hockey players, aka players who have entered adulthood after the turn on the 21st Century and are proficient in soclal media, the internet, and self-publicity work well with NHL teams who are in old established markets where attention is paid to privacy and discretion?
The best example of course is PK Subban vs The Montreal Canadiens. From all accounts PK was actually NOT a problem in the locker room, but instead just rubbed management and ownership the wrong way...and maybe a few of the older players...
In your opinion can this work or are we seeing a change needed by teams who usually don't like to make deep changes? Please take the poll below. I am very interested in your comments.
We will get into all sorts of hockey stuff on todays podcast at 1pm ET
Listen to the HockeyBuzzCast on #iTunes w/ @eklund @mikeinbuffalo @sportsology @DanDanNoodles78 @fisherjillian https://t.co/4Vc8NnpljX #NHL
— Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) April 26, 2016