Dallas Stars Daily Links: The Jamie Benn Ice Time Debate

by Erin Bolen on Jan 2, 2012 6:02 AM CST in Dallas Stars Daily Links

Benn is so good, he can make his stick bend in half with his mind.

With a full day off to revel in the Dallas Stars victory over the Boston Bruins (or to recover from other revelry if your Saturday night went really well), there wasn't a lot of news in Stars world Sunday.

There was, however, the rekindling of an interesting debate. Why, if Jamie Benn is among the brightest young start in the league, does he not get the most ice time on the team?

Well, in short, there are a lot of reasons, and it's not as simple as just leaving Benn out on the ice for two more minutes a game.

Not that the Stars don't want him on the ice. Far from it.

``We are trying to get him more minutes,'' Gulutzan said. ``I think 19 or 20 minutes should be his average. The one thing about Bennie is he's a pretty honest player and he takes short shifts He works and comes off, he works and comes off. He's like a lot of power forwards where he's out there burning and churning and he runs through his energy pretty quickly.''

After the jump, a little more on the Jordie Benn call up, all the Winter Classic craziness you could ask for and when AHL goalies go bananas.

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Here's a little more on the Jordie Benn callup, including a list of previous brother acts that he and Jamie would join if Philip Larsen can't go Tuesday. [DallasNews.com]
Our friends over at Hundred Degree Hockey take a look at what Jordie Benn's call up leaves the Texas Stars on defense. [Hundred Degree Hockey]
For those of you who have wondered where Mark Stepneski of ESPN Dallas has been, he gives us an update via Twitter. [Twitter]
I can't say I agree with all the hyperbole Mac Engel uses in this article, nor the actual hockey points he makes when he suggests the Stars deal Ribeiro for a scoring winger (to which I might ask who would be the second scoring center if that happens). But I do respect a columnist who is willing to actual offer an opinion. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
Stars prospect Jack Campbell did not have the World Juniors he wanted, but the goalie still says he enjoyed the experience. [NHL.com]
For those who were planning to watch the Winter Classic today, be aware the start time was pushed back to 2 p.m. central. There are also a couple classic quotes tagged at the bottom of the article. [Slam! Sports]
And speaking of the Winter Classic and Ilya Bryzgalov, he pulled a, well, Ilya Bryzgalov on Sunday when he announced that Sergei Bobrovsky would be starting today after his coach had said the Philadelphia Flyers hadn't made a decision yet. Um, oops? The quote he used is pretty classic, though. [Puck Daddy]
Meet the enemy: The fairly ridiculous three-game suspension for St. Louis Blues defenseman Ian Cole made me really want to make a snarky comment about how suspensions are magnified if you hit a player from a big media market or the Detroit Red Wings. But instead, I bring you an update about their third line. Because snarking at Shanahan's inconsistency is only going to make my head hurt. [MLive.com]
Around the Pacific Division: It was another quiet night in the division and the league with only the Calgary Flames taking on the Nashville Predators. So instead, I bring you musings from the San Jose Sharks beat writer about why their hit numbers might be so much lower than some division opponents. [San Jose Mercury News]
Here's the thing about trash talk: It's all about the maximum ability to get under a person's skin and really nothing else. The amount of truth it contains can help it cut deeper, but it's absolutely not something a player would say to someone else on the street or even in a game of shinny. So while I understand New York Rangers forward Mike Rupp being a little taken aback at hearing his chirping at Jody Shelley on 24/7, I don't think it's something he needs to be sorry for like he's insinuating. For one, I'm sure he's said much, much worse at some point. And secondly, I think Shelley understands the fine art of letting chirping roll off your back. [Puck Daddy]
With no Stars practice Sunday as the boys took to the Advil bottles, I'll stick with the crazy goalies theme and give you "Things That Will Get You Suspended for $1,000, Alex" as Ottawa Senators prospect goalie Robin Lehner went a little crazy on New Year's Eve in an AHL game. He starts his journey of doom about 15 seconds into the video. I love that you can see the backup getting ready at the end to the far right.

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Comments

Benn does need a little more ice time.

But we don’t wanna do what Crawford did last season and wear him out. He produced well down the stretch but eventually those double and triple shifts wore on him.

by T-rom on Jan 2, 2012 8:01 AM CST reply actions

Not sure also that Benn needs those minutes yet.

But I like the minutes Goose is getting. Him and Daley looked okay in my book.

Trevor Daley is my cup of tea.

by Henri Muroke on Jan 2, 2012 8:09 AM CST reply actions

Damn

is that column consistent with Engel’s usual work? That’s Bleacher Report quality right there.

by StarzenheimerSchmidt on Jan 2, 2012 9:57 AM CST reply actions

I agree with Engel somewhat

I think we absolutely do need to make a player acquisition or two. But trade Ribeiro? When we’re already too thin at center? I can’t see how that would accomplish much.

As for Benn’s ice time, Heika’s piece highlights something that really frustrates me about Gulutzan- his reluctance to ever change up his lines, even if they’re in a major slump. I guess I it gets to me because I also follow the Blackhawks and I see how often they change their lines around, and usually with great success. Granted, the Blackhawks have way more talent than we do, but still….

by cms1171 on Jan 2, 2012 10:10 AM CST reply actions

have the stars really been trying to get rid of him all this time?

I’m not saying they haven’t…it’s just the first time I’ve ever heard such a notion. I always thought he had what amounts to an untradable contract. Kind of off-topic about Ribeiro, you can tell he’s been in Dallas for several years, because Bruins fans apparently still only know him as that guy who took the horrible dive in Montreal.

by Jeff D on Jan 2, 2012 5:17 PM CST up reply actions

I've heard rumors that they've dangled him a few times.

But I don’t know how much more than rumors those rumors might have been.

by WingnutInStarsCountry on Jan 2, 2012 5:44 PM CST up reply actions

i know theyve had him available in the past

but that was when they had richards, i think he’s off the table for now at least. I feel bad for ribs though, he’s done everything the team has asked of him and his name always comes up in trade talks. I say give Benn more ice time, the all star break is coming up so if you burn him up he can recover.

by the way worst e-news ever...

by heyitsthatguy! on Jan 3, 2012 8:48 AM CST up reply actions