‘Playing Great Hockey’: Jamie Benn Scores 999th Career Point In Dallas Stars’ 4-3 Win Over San Jose Sharks

DALLAS — Late in the first period Saturday night, Jamie Benn took a feed from Roope Hintz in the slot and shot it high into the far corner for the 999th point of his NHL career. The goal put the Dallas Stars ahead 2-1 at 15:17 in an eventual 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks at American Airlines Center.

Benn needs one more point to become the second player in franchise history to reach 1,000, after Mike Modano, who had 1,359 with the franchise. Every one of Benn’s points has come with Dallas, which drafted him in the fifth round, No. 129 overall, in 2007.

The 37-year-old has 417 goals and 582 assists in 1,269 games. Through 17 games of his 18th season, he has 3 goals and 4 assists, and he has been skating on a line with Mikko Rantanen and Wyatt Johnston. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan pointed to Benn carrying pucks down the ice.

“I think Jamie’s playing great hockey,” Gulutzan said. “Offensively, he’s making plays and taking pucks down the ice. He’s playing some good hockey for us. That’s why he’s with [Rantanen] and [Johnston], and I thought that line’s been good and effective.”

Jamie Benn Sits One Point From Joining Mike Modano

Benn entered this season with 992 points and needed eight to get to 1,000. On Oct. 20, eight games in, he had 994 points, with 415 goals and 579 assists in 1,260 games. He has added 5 points in the nine games since.

Heading into the season, Benn ranked second in franchise history in goals and points and third in assists. He has been the Stars’ captain since the start of the 2013-14 season.

Tyler Seguin, Benn’s teammate since Dallas acquired him from the Boston Bruins in 2013, talked about the milestone in an October feature by NHL.com’s Tracey Myers. Seguin has 3 goals and 3 assists this season.

“It’ll be pretty sweet to see when it happens,” Seguin said. “I think if you ask him, he’s not going to say much about it. But just being able to be a part of a lot of his career and seeing things he’s gone through, it’s going to be a pretty cool moment.”

Hintz finished Saturday with a goal and an assist, and Benn also took a minor penalty. Benn entered the night with 23 goals and 31 assists in 56 career games against San Jose, the most points of any current Star against the Sharks.

Benn Back On A One-Year Deal At 37

Benn signed a one-year contract for $850,000 this season after playing on a $1 million deal in 2025-26. Stars general manager Jim Nill has sat down with Benn at the end of each of the past two seasons to see where he stands mentally and physically, Myers reported.

“We have the good talk, and he comes back about a month later and says, ‘No, I want to come back,’” Nill said. “We’re in a [salary] cap situation. He understands he was paid very well, but he wants to win, so he’s willing to sacrifice the salary part for the ability to give us more options to sign players. He’s been a good teammate that way.”

“He’s a little bit of a unicorn in today’s game,” Nill continued. “There aren’t many of those power forward guys left, and he’s brought a lot to this franchise on the ice with his physicality and scoring ability. What he brings off the ice, too, is so important. He’s the leader of the team. He directs the team and he’s done a great job.”

The Stars lost in six games to the Minnesota Wild in the first round last spring. Benn changed his workout routine and lost weight over the summer.

“I put in some good work this summer, changed a few things, and obviously the way we ended last year was not up to our standards,” Benn said in October. “It motivated a lot of us in the summer to be better. With a few tweaks and changes to this year to our system and how we play, we feel we’re in a good spot.”

Gulutzan was rehired on July 1, 2025, and Benn was the only player on the roster he had also coached during his first stint in Dallas, from 2011 to 2013. Benn was 22 when Gulutzan first coached him.

“For me, the biggest thing with Jamie is just why he does what he does,” Gulutzan said. “He’s the ultimate competitor. He just wants to win and he’s here just to win, whether he plays 10 minutes, 20 minutes, power play, no power play.”

“He just wants to win,” Gulutzan continued. “That’s the mark of a great leader. Seeing him young and seeing him older … as an older coach, you’re proud of a guy like that. He’s really matured into a good human.”

The closest Benn has come to a Stanley Cup was the 2020 Final in the Edmonton bubble, which Dallas lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games. His next chance at 1,000 points comes Thursday, when the Stars host the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m. CT. Dallas also hosts the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and the Florida Panthers on Sunday.