4 Big Questions for the Dallas Stars in 2020-21

1. Can Jamie Benn enjoy a resurgence?

Not only is Jamie Benn the Captain and the leader of the Dallas Stars, but he’s also a pretty damn good hockey player and probably one of the best 50 forwards in the NHL.

He’s certainly one of the best power forwards in the game, as backed up by the 167 hits he dished out during the 2019-20 regular season, in addition to the 86 hits he piled up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

However, as good a two-way forward as the 31-year-old is, he has regressed offensively over the past couple of years and that will be a concern for the Stars heading into the 2020-21 NHL season.

After putting up 79 points (36 G, 43 A) in 2017-18, Benn’s production dipped to 53 points (27 G, 26 A) in 2018-19 and then it dropped dramatically to 39 points (19 G, 20 A) in 69 games last year.

Benn did enjoy somewhat of a mini revival in the postseason with 19 points (8 G, 11 A) in 27 games, but his struggles throughout the regular-season were a huge factor in why the Stars ranked 26th in the entire NHL in Goals For Per Game (2.58).

And, with No. 1 center Tyler Seguin out until at least early April, much of the goalscoring burden will fall on the shoulders of Benn, who will need to step up and really lead his team as they aim to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss in the Stanley Cup Final without two of their biggest stars in Seguin and goaltender Ben Bishop.

Benn is certainly capable of being a high-end points scorer as proven by his 79 points just two years ago, while he has also recorded 80 or more points twice in his career.

With the Dallas Stars needing to see a dramatic improvement in their offense in order to ease the pressure and the workload on Anton Khudobin, Jamie Benn will have to carve out a huge bounce-back year offensively in order to avoid his team getting hit with an ugly Stanley Cup Final hangover in the 2020-21 NHL season.