Unforgettable Dallas Stars Moments: Jamie Benn Takes On Jarome Iginla

When you think of Jamie Benn, many are quick to recall a crafty goal (like when he danced around the entire Columbus Blue Jackets' team to then score) or his timely goal scoring (scoring with just seconds left to send a game versus Phoenix into overtime.) Some will talk about his unbelievable stretches of games where he seemingly willed the Stars to wins almost singlehandedly. Once you get past the usual suspects, the big moment many remember involving Jamie Benn was actually a fight.

A scoring threat more often that not, it comes as no surprise that the young Dallas Stars' forward has only seven total NHL fights to his name over the past three seasons. His "fight card" consists of opponents Mike Duco, Erik Johnson, Tyler Kennedy, Chris Kunitz, Devin Setoguchi, Jarome Iginla, and Jakub Kindl. Ask any Stars fan which of those they remember the most, the epic bout against Iginla would be the first answer without a doubt.

Iginla challenged Benn to a fight after Benn delivered a solid hit to one of the Flames captain's linemates. So on December 23, 2010 in front of a crowded AAC, the two fought it out in what Darryl 'Razor' Reaugh would term a "five knuckle meat soother contest at center ice."

Benn's bout against the Calgary Flames captain is remembered for more than just being a fight (although it may be one of the best fights of the last few seasons Stars fans witnessed.) Looking back, it feels like the moment when the rest of the hockey community really started taking notice of Jamie Benn. This was like his coming out party, where he announced to the hockey world that he wasn't just here to score goals but he was physically mature enough to handle the NHL game and was a force to be reckoned with even when he wasn't making fools out of defensemen. Fighting against an established older captain as respected as Iginla is an exclamation point to that message.