Stars captain Jamie Benn to have hip surgery, out 4-5 months

Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn will have offseason hip surgery that will require four to five months of rehabilitation.

Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn will have offseason hip surgery that will require four to five months of rehabilitation, the team announced Monday.

Benn, 25, played through the injury for much of the season. On Sunday, he clinched the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's points leader with 87, thanks to a hat trick in the Stars' 4–1 win over the Nashville Predators. He eclipsed New York Islanders center John Tavares for the trophy by a single point.

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"He’ll be getting hip surgery," said Stars general manager Jim Nill in a report by The Dallas Morning News. "There were a lot of nights when we thought he wouldn't be playing, but he came to us and said, 'No, I’m a player.' That’s Jamie Benn. We didn't hear about it all season. That's Jamie Benn. To gut it out the way he did shows we've got a great leader on this team."

Benn, a six-year veteran, was a fifth-round draft pick, making him the lowest-drafted player to win the Art Ross Trophy. For the season, he finished with 35 goals and 52 assists in an average ice time of 19:57.

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The Stars finished 41–31–10 with 92 points, missing the Western Conference playoffs by five points as the Calgary Flames secured the final spot with 97.

- Mike Fiammetta