Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn is returning for an 18th season with the only team he has ever played for in the NHL.
The Stars announced Friday, two weeks before Benn's 37th birthday, that he has signed a one-year deal for the 2026-27 season. The contract has a base salary of $850,000, the league minimum, with another $1,150,000 in potential performance bonuses.
“Jamie’s leadership and commitment to this organization is truly unmatched and he has helped define our culture,” general manager Jim Nill said. "He continues to set the standard on and off the ice, and we’re excited to have him leading our team for another season.”
Hall of Fame center Mike Modano is the only player in franchise history with more than Benn’s 1,252 regular-season games, 414 goals and 992 points. Benn has 80 points (28 goals and 52 assists) in 126 postseason games, and still hopes to win a Stanley Cup title.
Benn has been the Stars captain since 2013-14, and this is the second offseason in a row he had a decision to make about whether to play another season. He also played on a one-year deal last season after the end of a $76 million, eight-year contract.
He missed the first 19 games last season because of a punctured lung and his 60 games played were his fewest in a full 82-game regular season. He had 15 goals and 21 assists with a $1 million base salary, and earned another $2 million in bonuses.
After the Stars were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in May, Benn said he was going to sit back before making a decision about another season. His coach and teammates were clear then that they hoped he would keep playing.
“For me, it’s a slam dunk. He needs to come back,” coach Glen Gulutzan said after completing his first season back with the Stars.
Benn was the only player Gulutzan also coached during his first tenure behind the Dallas bench (2011-13).
Tyler Seguin has been teammates with Benn since 2013-14, after he was traded from Boston and the same season Benn became the Stars captain.
Seguin, who is going into the final season of a $78.8 million, eight-year contract, made it clear after last season that he hoped for another chance at the Cup with Benn.
Dallas went to the Western Conference final in each of the previous three seasons before the early postseason exit this year.
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FILE - Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (14) takes control of the puck in front of Winnipeg Jets' Alex Iafallo (9) in the first period of an NHL hockey game April 2, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
Silverstone hasn’t changed a bit and yet Lewis Hamilton is ready for a British Grand Prix on a “completely different track.”
Hamilton coped best with adapting his driving style around Formula 1's new reliance on battery power to take pole position in qualifying for Saturday's sprint race.
Despite a slight wobble in the final corner, Hamilton held on to take pole by just 0.011 of a second at a track where he'd predicted he and Ferrari would struggle. The seven-time world champion stood atop his car and soaked in the applause as he waved to the crowd.
“I love this place, I love this crowd and I can’t express how big a dream it is,” he said.
Standings leader Kimi Antonelli was second fastest, with Max Verstappen third for Red Bull ahead of Hamilton's teammate Charles Leclerc.
George Russell was only fifth after winning last week's Austrian Grand Prix, while McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were sixth and seventh in a throwback green-and-white livery.
Setting fast times at Silverstone is very different this year because of how the cars struggle to recharge their batteries around the high-speed circuit. Having only a single practice session on Friday, topped by Hamilton, made it crucial to adapt quickly.
With nine wins there, the most of any F1 driver at a single track, Hamilton knows his home circuit inside out.
Ahead of this weekend's race, he outlined how the 2026-specification F1 cars will struggle with Silverstone's long straights and fast corners.
The Ferrari star predicts cars running at reduced speed with empty batteries, because they need heavy braking zones to recharge the electrical power that's crucial to how they operate.
“This is going to be the most unprecedented weekend in terms of the power deployment," he said Thursday. “All of us drivers have been talking on the drivers’ chat just how poor the power is going to be through this track. We run out of battery power.”
The fastest way around Silverstone now involves easing off the power to recharge in what would normally be some of the most exciting corners, Hamilton predicted, adding it could be a setback for him and Ferrari.
“Normally the engine’s screaming as you’re going into Copse, and you’re holding on for dear life as you go through there flat out. This year, the engine will be coasting down,” he said. “Maggotts and Becketts is just not going to feel the same because I think you have to lift and coast or something through there for a period of time. It’s just a completely different track.”
Even before Friday practice, drivers spent plenty of time practicing for Silverstone on advanced simulators that mimic the behavior of the cars. Hamilton's comments line up with predictions by Verstappen, who said he “just started laughing” when he tried it out.
Despite the changes Norris, who won a thrilling British Grand Prix on his way to the title last year, says F1 can still put on a good show.
“I think Sunday will be exciting. On the outside I think it’ll be great," he said. "Certainly there’s going to be less challenges on the track itself comparing to what you’ve seen in the past few years.”
Racing at home has been bad luck in F1 recently. No driver has scored a point in his home race since Antonelli's ninth place at the Italian Grand Prix in September.
So far this year, Piastri failed to make the start in Australia and Leclerc crashed out in Monaco, leaving 12th for Carlos Sainz, Jr. the best by any driver on home soil.
Where better for that streak to end than Britain? Besides Hamilton's nine wins, Norris is the defending champion and Russell is coming off the victory in Austria last week.
To top it off, those three combined for the first all-British podium since 1968 at last month's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
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Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli of Italy steers his car during the qualifying session for the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain celebrates after setting a pole position for the sprint race at the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Mechanics push Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli's car back into the team garage during the first free practice ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri's car back into the team garage during the first free practice ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
From left: Racing Bulls driver Arvid Lindblad of Britain, Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, and Cadillac driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland attend a news conference ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain attends a news conference ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain attends a news conference ahead of the British F1 Grand Prix, in Silverstone, England, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)
