The concurrent growth of Benn and Seguin

Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have grown alongside one another for much of their respective NHL careers.
Since coming to Dallas from Boston in a 2013 trade, Seguin has been a big part of the Stars' leadership group and, for a while, a huge element of the team's scoring punch. Now, he and Benn are both showing leadership in different ways and positively impact the team, despite a few career setbacks.

"You just do what you have to do to help the team win," Seguin said. "I think we both see it that way."
Seguin has battled through physical injuries, including a leg laceration this season. Benn has simply fought a reduction in points and an increase in criticism of his game. As the team's captain that can be just as frustrating as being injured, so the fact he is producing almost a point a game after bottoming out at about a half a point a game last season is an impressive feat.
"It just makes you smile," said Seguin. "I mean you just watch him and see what he's doing on the ice, and you feel really good for him."
Benn feels the same way about Seguin.
"I mean, he's a hockey player," Benn said when asked about Seguin returning early from his leg injury on Thursday and blocking a shot late in a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh. "That's how we're wired, and he probably didn't think twice about it. I'm sure he didn't feel great, but he came back and helped us win a hockey game. That's who he is."
Seguin was the second overall pick in 2010 and helped the Bruins win a Stanley Cup in 2011. He was traded to the Stars in 2013 and immediately became one of the team's leading scorers. Seguin tallied a point a game for six seasons and became the team's highest paid player, enjoying a game that wasn't easy, but sure made it look that way.
But then the injuries started to pile up. There was a sliced Achilles tendon, surgery on his hip and knee, and a nagging quadricep injury that had to be rehabbed. They took their toll on one of Seguin's most valued attributes, his speed, and forced him to play a different game. He sat out most of 2020-21 and when he came back last season, he had to adjust his game.
There were not a lot of breakout chances. There were even fewer one-timers from the left circle. He was a different player.
"You adapt," Seguin said. "You don't have a choice. It's tough, and you could have a pity party, but you just find a way to fight through it."
Seguin tallied 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists) in 81 games last season, and he did so by getting to the net and finding new ways to score. He said he realized early that his role on the team had changed, which meant he had to change too. Roope Hintz was centering a top line with Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson, and the trio also ate up a bunch of the power play time.
"Last year was definitely a challenge," Seguin said. "I went and got hurt and then when I came back, everything had changed. Roope had become this unbelievable player and there was a top line that had become dominant, and they took a lot of the offensive workload. I didn't really have my spot for the one-timers, and I was playing with a lot of different players, and it just changed. It was `Okay, I'm not doing what I used to do, so how do I do this?'"
Seguin became grittier and better defensively. He did what he could to impact the game and ended up scoring four points (two goals, two assists) in seven playoff games, which was third on the team in playoff scoring. This season, after a strong summer of workouts, he got his speed back and found his one-timer, which led to better offensive production under new coach Pete DeBoer. However, Hintz and Co. were still dominating the top offensive opportunities, and had a new linemate in rookie Wyatt Johnston, so Seguin was trying to make an impact on the "third line" and the "second power play."­
Seguin has 43 points (17 goals, 26 assists) in 67 games, improving his scoring pace from last season.
"It's strange, because I'm not that guy anymore and I had to adjust to that," he said. "I'm not on the first power play, I'm not on the first line, so you have to check your ego at the door and do whatever you can to help the team win."
Benn said he's been impressed by Seguin's resolve.
"He's adapted to his body. The injuries are going to slow you down, that's just how life goes," Benn said. "But as a hockey player, you find different ways to produce and get what you can out of your body."
Benn has had to do something similar. While he has been healthy enough to play in 95 percent of the available games in his career, he has battled other issues. After tallying 79 points in 2017-18, he had seasons of 52 points (in 78 games), 39 points (69 games), 35 points (in 52 games) and 46 points (in 82 games). With this came the criticism that he wasn't doing his job, and the bigger burden of not helping his team win enough during the regular season. Sure, Dallas went two rounds deep in the playoffs in 2019 and got to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, but the critics were always there for both Benn and Seguin.
But that's what makes this season even more fun.
"He's playing great hockey," Seguin said. "Him and Johnny have really good chemistry, and he's just stuck with it. At the beginning of the year he battled to score, but the power play really got him going and now he's got his swagger back. I think that's been big for him."
Benn didn't have a goal in the first 10 games of the season under the new coaching staff, and there was concern that he might simply not have the physical ability to be a top scorer. But he started scoring on the power play and gained a ton of confidence. Since Game 11, he has 31 goals and 35 assists for 66 points in 63 games, and all without the hint of a slump.
"Jamie's season speaks for itself," DeBoer said. "We wouldn't be where we are without him, and it's been consistent. Other than the first 10 games, he's been as consistent a goal scorer as we've had. He's contributing almost every night."
Benn said he found a good workout plan in the off-season with strength coach Brad Jellis, and that's helped him play beside the 19-year-old Johnston. He said he simply continues to try to do the things he's been working on his entire career, and it's paying off this season.
"Me and Jelly changed up a few things training-wise and it helped. The coaches have been a big part of it. I've got good chemistry with Johnny," Benn said. "I've tried to play the same way and I just take it one game at a time. I try to take care of myself and then just play the games as they come. You do what you need to do."
And that consistency can pay off in big years like this.
"It's a good feeling when you work hard and you overcome things," Benn said when talking about Seguin but maybe referencing his own journey too. "I mean, when things usually go your way, and then they don't, that can be very frustrating. So, you figure out how to adapt and change and put the work in, and if it does work out, that's a really good feeling."
If it is fixed, the two are hopeful they could have their best season ever. And while those on the outside might look at individual numbers to judge such things, those on the inside know better.
"The biggest realization I had is understanding that we are a deeper team and a better team when I'm playing where I am," Seguin said. "I've taken pride in that this year, and I definitely believe we're a better team now. To look at who we are and what we can do if I'm a depth player, it's exciting. I'm here to be a part of something special. That's what I want to do more than anything else."
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.