Stars’ Jamie Benn to make season debut following collapsed lung

The Dallas Stars will get a boost on Tuesday night when they take on the New York Islanders on home ice. 

Following a 19-game absence, veteran forward and captain Jamie Benn is set to make his season debut after having surgery on a collapsed lung in September, having sustained the injury in the final preseason game against the Minnesota Wild. 

He is expected to start in a fourth-line role, despite having time with the top line through his return to practices.  

Before his recent extended absence, Benn had gone through a heavy few years of endurance, only missing two regular-season games since the start of the 2021-22 NHL season. In the 2024-25 NHL season, he scored 16 goals and 49 points in 80 games, while also amassing 114 hits. 

While the Stars have been without their captain, they have remained competitive through 2025-26, posting a 12-4-3 record and sit second in the NHL’s Central Division heading into Tuesday night’s matchup at the American Airlines Center.  

At 36 years old, Benn is in what could be his final NHL season after signing a one-year $1 million contract in the summer. Through the remainder of the season, he will look to build on the 399 goals and 956 points he has amassed in his first 1,192 games. 

Getting him back in the lineup will also help the club weather some of their other injury woes, with forwards Matt Duchene and Adam Erne added to the long-term injured reserve on Monday, retroactive to Oct. 18 and Nov. 11, respectively. Meanwhile, blueliner Thomas Harley is week-to-week because of a lower-body injury.

After Tuesday’s game, the Stars embark on a four-game road trip against the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken, before returning home to play the Utah Mammoth on Nov. 28.