Jamie Benn Swatch Card

I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the fact that while he isn't scoring as much as he used to and that Joe Pavelski has also assumed a large part of the Dallas Stars' leadership up-front, captain Jamie Benn is once again looking like a leader in these playoffs.

His last two regular seasons had been a disappointment to say the least - 27 goals, 26 assists and 53 points in 78 games in 2018-19 and 19 goals, 20 assists and 30 points in 69 games in 2019-20 - but he elevated his gaem in both postseasons, and this year in particular, with two three-game goal streaks this season, against noteworthy adversaries like the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights, in key games, no less.

I'm not sure GM Jim Nill sees it as "worth the $9.5M cap hit" per se, but he's probably extremely happy to have him around, that's for sure. Here is the power forward in simpler times, wearing the Stars' black/dark green football-style uniform with the wordmark chest piece and number on the front of the jersey, on the swatch insert version of card #14 from Panini's 2010-11 Certified set and Certified Potential sub-set:

It features a matching game-worn jersey swatch and is numbered #88/99.

Jamie Benn Jersey Card

There were two big pieces of news regarding Jamie Benn today: first, he signed a new monster contract that will pay him $9.5M per season for eight years, and second, the Dallas Stars' captain might miss the World Cup because of abdominal surgery to repair a muscle injury.

Let's talk about his deal first, which kicks in for the 2017-18 season. Is he worth that kind of top-player money right now? Absolutely, seeing as he won the Art Ross Trophy in 2014-15 and was runner-up in 2015-16, he's definitely a top player worthy of being "in the conversation" in terms of rare franchise players. However, he still has a year to go on a contract that currently pays him $5.75M, which makes him one of the most affordable and valuable players in the league at the moment, meaning some view him as currently underpaid.

His style of play is straight-up power forward, but he doesn't get that many penalties called against him, which differentiates him from the prototypical/stereotypical power forwards of the past, such as Keith Tkachuk, Eric Lindros, Todd Bertuzzi, or Jeremy Roenick. He does hit and get hit a lot, though, which means his body may get some bumps and bruises over time.

As I wrote somewhere else:

Ironically, the one thing that could save him with his physical style of play is a serious injury that takes a year for him to recover from, as every other bone and muscle in his body will also get some rest and he’ll be able to bounce back and buy back some time.

If not, the last couple of seasons may seem like overpayment and some disgruntled fans may scream for a buyout, which would be unfair for a true leader who really gives everything he's got for his team.

I'd featured Benn in the Stars' post-lockout black (home) atrocity a little over a year ago, so now it's time to do so with its counterpart white (away) monstrosity on card #DALL-JB from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Black Diamond set and Double Diamond Jerseys sub-set:

I'm so glad Dallas changed their uniforms to the current green and white ones with an actual logo instead of just letters; there are limits to identifying with colleges, i.e. amateurs.

Jamie Benn Jersey Card

Well, the Dallas Stars are pretty much eliminated from the playoff picture right now, so the team's tought start will have cost them in the end.

They have had some fine individual seasons, however, from the likes of Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza, young defenseman John Klingberg and captain Jamie Benn, who hit the 30-goal mark for the second consecutive season and will finish with a point-per-game production.

It's important to remember that the Olympic gold medalist (Team Canada, 2014) is still just 25 years old and has a lot of good hockey left in him, and the Stars are on the rise and might become Stanley Cup contenders in a few years; Benn's built for playoff hockey, too, at 6'2'' and 205 pounds of determination, as can be attested by how he's playing in traffic alongside the Washington Capitals' Karl Alzner on this card:

It's card #GJ-JB from Upper Deck's 2013-14 Series 2 collection and Game Jersey sub-set, and pictures him wearing the Stars' current white (away) uniform, possibly their best-looking one since the team's inaugural one, although it could easily be mistaken for a St. Patrick's Day uniform.

Jamie Benn Jersey Card

Congratulations go out to Jamie Benn for scoring his first career NHL hat trick tonight:

.@jamiebenn14's first NHL hat trick is the first by a @DallasStars player other than Tyler Seguin since Mar. 31, 2010 (Steve Ott). #DALvsSTL
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 18, 2015

He is already at 22 goals on the year, which equals his totals from the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, and he's on pace to come close to his career mark of 34, set last season, which also marks his highest season for points with 79 (he's on pace for 65 or so this year). He made the NHL's First All-Star Team last year as well.

As the Dallas Stars' captain, he's under a certain scrutiny when it comes to his actions, both on and off the ice; sometimes it helps, such as when he made Team Canada for the Sochi Olympics as a consistent-if-not-flashy contributor, but on a roster which initially didn't include two-time Art Ross winner Martin St. Louis, no one would have been surprised if a guy who had never hit the 30-goal mark before had been left out. Most Canadians were happy that he did, though, because one of his two goals in Canada's six games was the semi-finals game winner against Team USA. He also has a gold medal from the 2009 World Juniors.

Last week, he came under fire for participating in a morning radio show which involved some criticism and insults directed at the Vancouver Canucks' Henrik and Daniel Sedin; he was mature enough to apologize quickly, though he was only responsible for one sentence directed at them (''who knows what else they do together'').

It quickly became a non-story, and that's perfectly acceptable, seeing as The Twins took it in stride.

In terms of talent, I'd say he's a slower Rick Nash. Like Nash, he has terrific hands and deking moves, and might even be more accurate than the New York Rangers superstar, considering Benn won an NHL All-Star accuracy competition, hitting four targets in just over 10 seconds. We'll see ten years from now how many 30-, 40- and 50-goal seasons each will have had, but I suspect Benn could top out around 45 once, 40 another time, and surpass 30 another three or four times.

I was hesitating as to which card to feature, seeing as I have a few of his, including two with the Stars' current uniform, but I decided to show my love for Upper Deck's 2011-12 Artifacts design one more time and went with the Stars' football-inspired uniform from a few years back (which I'm glad they no longer use):

It's the two-swatch version of card #74, numbered 98/125, and though it shows him in the black (home) uniform, the pieces of game-used jersey are white. All the writing on the card is actually in silver foil, which looks much better in person than on the card.

Two Jamie Benn Autographed Cards

Going into training camps 7 NHL teams (out of 30) are without a captain. Here are my picks:

Tampa Bay Lightning: Martin St-Louis
Edmonton Oilers: Jordan Eberle
Buffalo Sabres: Thomas Vanek, assuming he remains past this season (otherwise, Steve Ott)
Ottawa Senators:  Jason Spezza
Calgary Flames: Mark Giordano and Michael Cammalleri
Columbus Blue Jackets: Brandon Dubinsky
Dallas Stars: Stéphane Robidas

A lot of people would rather see Tampa go for Steven Stamkos, and I respect that, but as a gesture of recognition for his work, St-Louis should get the nod for his last two seasons or so, then Stamkos will have the team to himself for the next decade.

The Oilers have to decide which of their young stars will be the designated leader, and though Taylor Hall also has a few years of experience, I think Eberle is the wisest choice because he doesn't already come with the pressure of being a former first-overall pick that Hall and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins do. He's also proven to be a clutch performer at all levels, including internationally.

If the Sens don't go for Spezza, the only other logical choice is Chris Phillips. And while I love the idea of going with role players for captain, Spezza's learned a lot under Daniel Alfredsson, and is still an elite player. He is the face of the franchise now, along with the goalies and Erik Karlsson.

In Calgary, both guys are deserving, and both crave it. They should alternate, until one of them leaves, leaving the other as the stand-alone guy until one of the kids is ready to take the mantle.

Dubinsky is ready in Columbus, and already had a leadership role on his former team, the New York Rangers. But Marian Gaborik is a steady force on offense, and has already sported the 'C' with the Minnesota Wild. One of the defensemen could also take the mantle.

Which leaves us with Dallas, and the consensus choice of Jamie Benn, which I passed over in favour of veteran defenseman Robidas. Robidas is 36 and has two or three seasons left; he has represented Canada twice and played in an All-Star Game, despite being more of a dependent defensive force than an offensive powerhouse - precisely the type of guy who embodies ''team spirit''. Benn, on the other hand, while constantly improving and deemed worthy of keeping instead of James Neal, just isn't there yet.

Sure, he can be counted on for some 20-25 goals, eventually 30, perhaps even 40 once or twice - and his point production went from 41 points in his rookie year to 56 to 63 to 33 last season (in 41 games, which makes for 66 pro-rated to 82 games). But is he an undisputed leader on a team that has former Oilers captain Shawn Horcoff, lettermen Sergei Gonchar and Erik Cole, and high draft picks Tyler Seguin and Valeri Nichushkin? Probably not. He may even be the odd man out in three or four years.

Which isn't to say I don't like the guy. I do. He even signed these two identical cards for me:

They're from Upper Deck's 2010 National Card Day collection (card #HCD-3), a set I don't usually go after (my weekends are hectic, Ebay gets expensive) but for some reason I got a hold of that year through trades, even managing to nab a few doubles; getting both of these signed in beautiful (albeit fading) blue sharpie, though, means my set is now incomplete - guess I'll (try to) have them all signed, then!

I'm open to trading one, if anyone's interested.