© Russell LaBounty-Imagn ImagesThis summer, Jason Newland and I will continue our series looking at potential free agent targets who could be available on July 1.
Today, we’re looking at Jamie Benn.
Target: Jamie Benn – LW – 16 Years Experience
Benn is a lifetime Dallas Star. Although his contract is ending, there likely won't be a world where he signs elsewhere. If he does win the Cup this season, there could be a chance that he retires after this season. However, I personally don't see a world where Benn isn't on the Stars until his career is over.
Stats
In 80 games, he has scored 16 goals and 33 assists for a total of 49 points. His career high came back in 2015-16, when he scored 89 points in 82 games. In his 16-year career, he has played in 1,192 games and scored 399 goals and 557 assists for 956 points.
Previous Salary
Benn is in the last year of an eight-year deal that was signed back on July 15, 2016. The contract carries an AAV of $9.5 million. Contract experts suggest that Benn’s next deal will be somewhere in the neighbourhood of two years with an AAV of $5.5 million.
Realistic Chances of a Signing: None
For Benn’s realistic chances of signing with the Blue Jackets, I'm putting none rather than cold. The reason being, I just don’t see him leaving the Stars. As I mentioned before, he may consider retirement if he were to win the Cup. However, at 35 years old, he has shown he can still play at a fairly high level and will likely only want to do so in Dallas.
Personally, I don't even expect that GM Don Waddell would waste time inquiring about Benn. He will have a long list of players to look into before he got to Benn.
