The Dallas Stars have been one of the NHL's most frustrating teams over the past decade, and it's safe to believe they'd be a complete mess without superstars Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.
You've probably heard by now that team CEO Jim Lites went off on the two All-Star players, according to Sean Shapiro of The Athletic. Even though Dallas sits eighth in the Western Conference right now, Lites said owner Tom Gaglardi is "pissed," with the performances of Seguin and Benn.
"They are (expletive) horse-(expletive), I don’t know how else to put it," Lites said. "The team was ok. But Seguin and Benn were terrible...We are a stars-driven league, and our stars aren’t getting it done. It’s embarrassing, and no one writes it. Write it!"
Wait, the two players that lead your team in scoring are worthy of being insulted in front of the media? They're the reason that the Stars are "only" in a playoff position, and not first overall in the NHL?
Benn, you may recall, won the Art Ross Trophy in 2015 with 87 points. The Stars missed the playoffs, of course, because the organization has continually failed to build around him. Too bad that Benn's six seasons of scoring 25-plus goals have gone to waste.
Seguin, meanwhile, has been one of the NHL's most consistent scorers since being traded to Dallas five years ago. Perhaps he wouldn't be so overlooked if the Stars found ways to build around him and Benn. Did you know Seguin reached the 70-point mark in each of his first five seasons with the Stars?
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Lites should be pointing at general manager Jim Nill, the other forwards who aren't contributing much or the defensemen that didn't step up in John Klingberg's absence. But instead, he's singling out the two superstar players that carried Dallas to the playoffs in 2014 and 2016.
Lites didn't bother to criticize Jason Spezza, who's being paid $7.5 million and only has five goals and 19 points in 36 games. Lites didn't bother to criticize Nill, who gave Spezza that $30 million extension. The man who has missed out on most of his draft picks and gave Martin Hanzal a three-year, $14.25 million that simply hasn't worked out.
This is a Stars team that has made the playoffs twice between 2009 and 2018. They have one postseason series victory to show for it. That comes down to questionable ownership decisions, poor management and coaching. The Stars are on their third coach in as many years, by the way.
This is a Dallas team that didn't realize it was a two-player team for about five years. It took them a half-decade to realize that goaltending was a problem. They decided to overpay for the talent but ageing and oft-injured Ben Bishop in the offseason.
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The Stars also didn't bother to find much support up front for Seguin or Benn until signing Alexander Radulov last summer. They haven't done much of anything to fix an awful blue line, unless the failed Marc Methot Trade or getting lottery luck to move up and get Miro Heiskanen third overall in the 2017 draft counts.
But somehow, the inept management, constant coaching changes and lack of support from other players is the fault of Seguin and Benn? What an interesting world we're living in, folks.
The Edmonton Oilers haven't done much despite having a generational talent in Connor McDavid and near point-per-game player in Leon Draisaitl. I haven't heard ownership call out McDavid or Draisaitl for the team's struggles.
That's because most other NHL teams have common sense. They wouldn't dare call out their two franchise stars in front of the public. They know the goal is to treat their stars well and try to build around them.
But in the case of the Stars, they've failed miserably to build around Benn and Seguin. And with the team only in a playoff spot, Lites and Gaglardi are openly insulting the two players that have saved them from being a laughing stock in the NHL.
Being their professional and classy selves, Seguin and Benn won't be responding much to ownership's comments. But Lites' rant at the team is a reminder that we should feel sorry for Seguin and Benn.
Scoring 70-plus points a season isn't good enough for the Stars. It's all Seguin and Benn's fault. Not ownership. Not the front office. Not the coaching staff. Not all the other players. Just the two superstars.
Seguin and Benn truly deserve better than this. You really have to feel sorry for them, because they shouldn't be attacked for doing all the work in Dallas.