Dallas Stars captain and left winger Jamie Benn will undergo surgery to repair a collapsed lung and is now expected to miss a minimum of four weeks as he recovers from the injury.
Benn suffered the injury during the third quarter of the Stars’ preseason matchup against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, with the franchise announcing on social media that Benn is “expected to make a full recovery and will be reevaluated in four weeks.”
Stars general manager Jim Nill has confirmed that Benn will be “shut down” for four weeks, with the veteran forward also having strict travel restrictions due to the injury.
“He’s not allowed to travel because of the pressure to the lungs, so no air travel. They expect it to be close to healing for contact after four weeks and we’ll see after that,” Nill added, per NHL.com.
This timeline will mean that Benn is guaranteed to miss the first seven games of the Stars’ regular season, though he is likely to miss slightly more time as he returns to game shape once cleared for practice.
Dallas will have a difficult start to the 2025 regular season, with five of the team’s first seven matchups coming against teams that made the playoffs last season.
Losing Benn for this opening stretch will be difficult for Dallas to deal with, as the 36-year-old has remained one of the most impactful players on the roster despite entering his 17th season with the franchise.
Last year, Benn managed to contribute 16 goals and 33 assists while missing only two games during the regular season.
Although Dallas will miss an incredibly important player during this period, Nill said that injuries are “part of the game” and every team has to deal with these types of setbacks.
“It’s an opportunity for someone else. Jamie is a big part of the team as a captain, but we’ll be okay. We’ve got a good group. It doesn’t mean he won’t be around, he’ll be in the dressing room and around still. I’m not too worried right now about [our leadership],” he added, per NHL.com.