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DALLAS — Two nights after a kicked-in goal left him at 999, Jamie Benn scored the 1,000th point of his NHL career late in the second period Saturday night.
The Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres were still scoreless at American Airlines Center when Nils Lundkvist let a one-timer go from the right point at 16:23. Justin Hryckowian got a stick on it, and the puck came off the left post to Benn, who put it in from the top of the crease. It held up as the winner in a 2-0 Dallas victory.
Benn has 418 goals and 582 assists in 1,271 regular-season games, all of them with Dallas.
Point No. 999 came Nov. 7 against the San Jose Sharks, when Roope Hintz dug a puck out from below the goal line and found Benn in the slot. On Thursday against Winnipeg, a late David Perron power-play goal would have given Benn the second assist, but it was ruled a kick-in on the ice. Benn wore a microphone for both games, and he was asked what went through his head when the puck finally went in Saturday.
“Just nice for it to be a goal, I guess,” Benn said. “Nice to get it over with, and now I don’t have to wear a mic anymore.”
The waved-off goal came on Dallas’ final power play Thursday, with Winnipeg already ahead 8-3. Tyler Seguin was asked whether a kicked-in goal would have been a strange way for Benn to reach 1,000.
“It was something that I personally thought about in the last power play last game, and I asked [Perron] about it, and he thought about it too,” Seguin said. “So that was a weird one, but glad he got it tonight.”
Only Mike Modano has more points for the franchise, with 1,359 across 1,459 games and 21 seasons with the Stars and North Stars. Benn is second to him in games played, goals, and points. He also trails only Modano in game-winning goals, and Saturday’s was his 66th.
“It means a lot, obviously, to be mentioned just with him,” Benn explained. “He’s a legend, and probably when you think of a Dallas Stars hockey player, you think of Mike Modano. Did a lot for this organization, the city of Dallas, and just cool to be a part of everything.”
From Fifth-Round Pick To Franchise Milestone For Jamie Benn
Benn grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, and scored 42 goals in 53 games for the hometown Victoria Grizzlies of the British Columbia Hockey League in 2006-07. Dallas drafted him that June in the fifth round, 129th overall. He went on to play two seasons with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets.
Alexander Mogilny finished with 1,032 points, the most by a fifth-round pick in NHL history. Benn is the second fifth-rounder to reach 1,000.
On Sept. 19, 2013, the Stars named the 24-year-old Benn the sixth captain in Dallas history. General manager Jim Nill announced it with the team’s coach at the time, Lindy Ruff, who was behind the Buffalo bench Saturday. Benn played four seasons for Ruff, whose contract was not renewed after 2016-17.
“Loved playing for him and had some good years and good memories with him,” Benn said. “So I guess looking back, it’ll be cool just to know, I guess, that he was here.”
Benn entered that 2013-14 season with 193 points in 263 NHL games. He is now the longest-tenured captain in franchise history, and in his second season wearing the letter, 2014-15, he won the Art Ross Trophy with 35 goals and 52 assists for 87 points.
His 1,000th NHL game came Feb. 6, 2023, against the Anaheim Ducks. Last season, he scored his 400th goal Nov. 25 against the Edmonton Oilers in Edmonton. A week later, on Dec. 2 against the New York Rangers, he became the sixth active player to skate in 1,200 games for one franchise.
Saturday’s goal made him the 104th player in NHL history to reach 1,000 points. He is the 12th active player with 1,000 and the 53rd to get there with one franchise.
Jamie Benn’s Offseason Work Draws Praise From Dallas Stars
Benn finished 2025-26 with 15 goals and 21 assists in 60 games after missing 20 games with injury. On July 3, he signed a one-year contract with an $850,000 base salary and up to $1.15 million in performance bonuses, and in 19 games this season, his 18th, he has 4 goals and 4 assists.
“He’s skating a lot better, and he did some work in the summer and a little differently than he’s done in the past,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “… I actually encourage him, and I am pushing him to do more because he can.”
“You got hockey IQ. You got competitiveness. I mean, you got a hockey player, no matter what the age are, and he’s not that old,” Gulutzan continued.
Benn has not detailed those changes for reporters. Jake Oettinger, who made 22 saves Saturday, was asked what he saw from the captain over the summer.
“He lost like 20 pounds, but he always works his tail off, and he’s kind of one of those guys that isn’t super, like, loud or rah-rah, but he’ll just put the work in,” Oettinger said. “It’s kind of hard when you’re walking out of the rink with your lunch, and he’s still on the bike, and he’s got 1,000 points now.”
“So he just sets the example like that for everyone, and kind of sets the tone for the whole organization. So we’re really lucky to have him, and hopefully he gets his flowers tonight,” Oettinger continued.
Tyler Seguin Reflects On His Years With Jamie Benn
Benn turned 37 in July. Seguin, who arrived in a July 4, 2013, trade with Boston, 11 weeks before Benn was named captain, is in his 14th season alongside him, and he was asked what this season means after Benn’s summer.
“I mean, we’re getting older,” Seguin said. “… He probably had more reflecting, I think, this summer, and I think now on the planes, I think I kind of reflect a little bit with him too, just because the future gets a little more unknown as the years and ages tick up.”
“But now he’s three years older than me. I’m still younger, so we’re having fun,” Seguin added.
Modano’s franchise record sits 359 points ahead of Benn. Seguin was asked how he sees Benn now compared with when they first became teammates.
“Well, you’ll see it on his mic’d up. I leaned into his ear. I said, ‘It’s only 300 more.’ It’s only a few years maybe,” Seguin said.
“I mean, I’ve seen a lot of stuff with him. Kind of an evolution in a way. More of a quiet guy when I first got here. Long hair, and I think I brought out some personality in him, and he tamed me a little bit,” Seguin continued.
“So worked out for many years here, and just so happy, and seeing his accomplishments, whether it was [Art] Ross early or the 1,000 points now, or both of us becoming dads. He’s a guy you want to fight for at the end of the year when it becomes April to June, and get it done for him,” Seguin noted.
Glen Gulutzan, Jake Oettinger Put Benn’s Career In Perspective
Gulutzan coached Benn with the AHL’s Texas Stars and again in Dallas during Benn’s third and fourth NHL seasons. He returned to the Stars as head coach in 2025.
“When I first started coaching here, he was special young kid, and you could see it,” Gulutzan explained. “A good young kid, and you could see all these qualities of leadership, and just a great person on and off the ice, and kept in contact over the years for me.”
“And then to come back here and coach him, and we went to the Calder Cup final together in the American Hockey League, and then see him get 1,000 in the same uniform, and then just see how he’s matured as a grown up, and he’s 1,000% a team player,” Gulutzan added.
Oettinger said Benn deserved more recognition than he typically receives. His 22 saves kept the captain’s milestone goal as the game-winner.
“It’s unreal. I mean, he’s been the heart and soul of the team ever since I’ve been here and long before I’ve been here,” Oettinger explained. “So he’s, I mean, everything you want [in] a captain and a leader, and he’s been one of the best Dallas Stars of all time.”
“So it’s awesome. We’re all just happy for him and honored to have been out there for a lot of his points,” Oettinger continued.
Jamie Benn Shares Milestone Night With His Family
Benn’s goal came in the second period, after a scoreless first. He was asked whether moments like this one feel different now that he is a father.
“Little guy was trying to battle through last game there, so nice to get it in the second, and hopefully he’s sleeping right now. But we’ll see,” Benn said.
“We’ve had a lot of new dads on this team over the last couple years, so been through a lot together, and now we’re all becoming dads … and still more to come. So pretty cool to see the little ones everywhere,” Benn added.
Benn and the Stars host the Florida Panthers on Sunday at American Airlines Center. Puck drop is 7 p.m. CT.
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