According to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News, superstar forward Jamie Benn had surgery Thursday to repair an injured core muscle, and will be out for at least six weeks. While this shouldn’t put Benn’s 2016-17 season in jeopardy, it does put him at risk of missing the upcoming World Cup of Hockey this fall.
Benn put up another unbelievable season in 2015-16, scoring 41 goals (his first time cracking the 40-goal mark) and 89 points while suiting up for all 82 games. Benn has been relatively healthy throughout his career, missing only 32 games since his debut in 2009-10.
With a lengthy playoff run added on to a grueling season, perhaps his body was finally breaking down. He didn’t show any signs of it during the Dallas run however, as Benn contributed 15 points in just 13 games, before the team was eliminated by the St. Louis Blues.
If he’s healthy for this season, Benn will try again to capture a Hart trophy that he was a finalist for this year. With 448 points in 508 games, his career is off to a Hall-of-fame start, and with his 27th birthday on Monday he still has quite a few prime years left. Whether those years are spent in Dallas or not is still to be determined, as Benn will become an unrestricted free agent after the upcoming season.