The Dallas Stars emerged in 2022-23 as a Stanley Cup contender. That leaves their top players and leaders little room for error, writes Adam Proteau.

The NHL’s 2023 off-season continues, but each person employed by a team in hockey’s top league always feels a degree of pressure – and that’s the focus of this THN.com hot seat series, continuing with the Dallas Stars.

We’re looking at teams in alphabetical order and pointing out people on one type of the hot seat or another. One player, owner, GM or coach will be on the hot seat, signifying them as someone facing massive pressure to generate positive results in 2023-24 or find themselves in trouble. A second individual will go on the warm seat – pointing them out as someone who isn’t facing a firing or trade imminently, but may have their time with their current team end sometime this season. A third person will be put on the cold seat, making them very likely to stay with their current franchise for a long time to come.

Stars’ Hot Seat: Jamie Benn, LW

Don’t get us wrong – Benn enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2022-23, posting 33 goals and 78 points in 82 games. Those were his best statistics in those regards since 2017-18, when he generated 36 goals and 79 points in 82 games. 

Because of his massive contract worth $9.5 million per year, Benn is expected to be at that level every season until the contract ends in the summer of 2025.

At 34 years old, Benn doesn’t have much time left to win a Stanley Cup. In the 2023 post-season, he let down his team in Game 3 of the Western Conference final against Vegas when he needlessly cross-checked Golden Knights captain Mark Stone. Benn was suspended for Games 4 and 5 – Dallas won both those games, but what does that say about Benn’s importance to the team? Not a good look for him.

Along with forward Tyler Seguin, Benn is nearing the end of his playing days as a prime-time NHLer. He provides valuable secondary scoring behind the top line of stars Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson, but Benn’s cap hit is enormous. While it may anchor him to Dallas through the end of his contract, Benn’s opportunities to be in big-game moments may be reduced if he doesn’t put up solid numbers similarly to the way he did in 2022-23.

Stars’ Warm Seat: Matt Duchene, C

At the end of this past season, Duchene had no reason to suspect he’d soon be playing for another team with a drastic salary cutback. But that’s precisely what took place for Duchene. First, he had the final three seasons of his contract bought out by the Nashville Predators despite having above-average statistics in 2022-23, including 22 goals and 56 points in 71 games. He then decided to sign a one-year contract to be Dallas’ third-line center. 

He’ll be expected to still produce at least as much offense in 2023-24, and if he doesn’t, Duchene may well be allowed to move on in the UFA market next summer.

The good news for Duchene is he left a Preds team that will be in a hellacious fight to make the playoffs, and he joined a Stars squad that intends to at least make it back to the Western Conference final. The bad news is there’s no room for error insofar as his acclimation process goes. The 32-year-old must hit the ground running or risk fading into the background of Dallas’ efforts to win.

Duchene is indeed one season removed from a 43-goal, 86-point season, and the possibility of him sticking around the Stars beyond this campaign is all in his own hands. If he thrives, the Stars will find a way to keep him with the organization. If he falters, he costs himself not only a chance to stay in Dallas but a lot of money on his next contract as well. He’s got a good opportunity to control his own destiny, but there is a chance he changes employers yet again.

Stars’ Cold Seat: Roope Hintz, C 

To call Roope’s 2022-23 season a success would be an understatement. He put up a career-best 37 goals and 75 points in 73 games, then led the Stars in playoff point production with 10 goals and 24 points in 19 games. 

Had Dallas made it to the Cup final, the 26-year-old Finn would’ve been their leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. His all-around game makes him a dynamo for the Stars as they transition out of the Benn/Seguin Era and into the Robertson-Hintz-(Miro) Heiskanen-(Jake) Oettinger Era.

Hintz is entering Year 1 of his eight-year, $67.6-million extension that averages out to an annual cap hit of $8.45 million – a bargain for what he brings to the table. That works out to a $5.3-million raise per year from Hintz’s previous contract, but you won’t hear Stars fans complaining about it. Teams are paying their top centers much more money than Hintz is now getting, and they’ve got him in the prime of his career. As Benn and Seguin fade, Hintz will take the reins and underscore his '22-23 campaign with another elite performance this coming year.

Hintz is under contract longer than any other Stars player for good reason. He’s dependable at both ends of the ice – he’s a typical Scandinavian with his genuine modesty, and Dallas will be his home as long as he wishes it to be.