How Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, the NHL's Most Lethal Duo, Grew into Superstars

Jamie Benn and his linemate, Tyler Seguin, are tied for second in the NHL's Art Ross Trophy scoring race, and the Dallas Stars continue to maintain a lead in the NHL's Hunger Games Division—otherwise known by its real name as the Central. That, plus about $5.85, the Stars captain knows, is worth an extra-value meal at McDonald's.

"We're happy with our start, obviously, but we've never won a playoff series since I've been here. We need to show we're a team capable of winning when it counts. That's our goal. Anything less and we know we won't have reached our goal," said Benn, in his third season as Stars captain and seventh overall.

The Stars entered Monday's game at Minnesota with a healthy six-point lead over Central Division brethren St. Louis and Chicago in the 1-2-3 spots not only in the division but the Western Conference overall.

A lot of people expected a Dallas drop-off by now, because of perceived shortcomings on defense and in overall depth, but it hasn't happened. The Stars entered Monday 6-2-2 in their previous 10, with the best goal differential (114-85, plus-29) in the West. Their underlying advanced statistics are good too, with a 52.9 Corsi For Percentage that ranked seventh-best in the league, according to Puckalytics.com. 

And yet, Stars general manager Jim Nill knows that and a dollar will buy you an item at Dollar Tree.

"We know we've got to be better," Nill said. "And our top guys, they know that, which is what you like to see. The best players know they have to continually try and get better, and I think we have a good couple of guys setting that example in 'Benner' and Seguin."

"Benn and Seguin" don't quite roll off the tongue like "Kane and Toews" or "Orr and Esposito" or "Batman and Robin," but as far as dynamic duos go, they are as good as it gets in the NHL right now. With 44 points in their first 33 games each, both Stars stars are ahead of last season's scoring pace, which in Benn's case was good enough to win the NHL scoring title with 87 points. 

Seguin won a Stanley Cup his rookie season in Boston, and Benn was close to a point-a-game guy his first few years in the league after being drafted 129th overall in 2007. But neither achieved the kind of individual success they are enjoying now before they were united by the blockbuster 2013 Stars-Bruins trade that brought Seguin to Dallas. 

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Seguin's public reputation is as the GQ, ESPN The Magazine's Body Issue kind of guy—the one who hobnobs with Derek Jeter at rooftop LA soirees—while Benn is the quiet guy. Neither paints the full portrait of them as people, though Benn freely admits Seguin is the flashier one.

"[Seguin] you know, he's a great guy, a guy who likes to have some fun but is also very serious about the game and winning," Benn said. "He doesn't have a smile on his face unless we win the game. I think he's helped me develop my game as a player, and I like to think I have with his too.

"It's kind of crazy how it worked out. I've seen some quotes from some of the Boston people and how maybe they wished they'd handled it a little bit differently. He's such a dynamic and elite player in this league, and we're definitely fortunate enough to have him."

When Seguin first came to the Stars, he spent the majority of his time with Benn, along with his brother, Jordie. They lived in the same luxury-apartment complex together. They bonded at first over a love of video games. Now, they put up video-game numbers in real life.

Nill still gets more questions about Seguin, given the center's public profile that included some controversy as a "bad boy" in Boston and the fact that he pushed the button on the trade for him. But Nill gets a touch evangelic when talking about the progress Benn has made as a player and as a leader.

"He's really grown into the captaincy. I'm really just so proud of that for him," Nill said. "It's refreshing to see a guy where the light switch turns on and he realizes who he is and what he can do and how he affects the people around him without changing himself."

Benn had been a very good individual player when he came to Dallas, Nill said, but he started to really change as a leader after playing for Canada in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. 

"He went there as an extra forward, wasn't even on the radar screen and ended up being the guy who probably had the most impact of anybody," Nill said. "He brought that back with him. He's only 26, and there's still room for growth. But he understands that there's a certain window, and he's grabbing that. He's the leader of our team."

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Benn shrugs off such praise but admits he felt a little taller in the saddle as a person and player after Sochi.

"When you're on the same team as so many great players like we had, it's such an honor and, yeah, you can't help but come away from that feeling good," Benn said. "And it's fair to say that it changed me a little bit after the coaching staff and [Nill] gave me the 'C' after they came down here. It gave me a little bit more responsibility. Being a leader and the go-to guy is something I wanted, and I've just kind of had a lot of fun with it."

Marty Turco, the former Dallas goalie who does some player development now with the Stars, said Benn is the perfect captain type because of his "everyday, consistent" demeanor. He played with Seguin for a while as a teammate in Boston, too, and said the Bruins made a critical mistake in judging his character too soon.

"When I was there, I just mostly remember a nice, sweet kid who wanted to win hockey games," Turco said. "But whatever happened there—being late for a practice or a bus or whatever—people forget how young he was. He's only 23 now. I mean, I guarantee he wasn't the only one who liked to have a little bit of a good time on those Boston teams too. But they were winners too."

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Said Nill: "Tyler's made major strides. He's only 23. He's lived a pretty full life already in the NHL, with a Cup already and some highs and lows. To be successful, and all the star players who have had success like [Steve] Yzerman, they all go through this.

"You're known as a certain player, but to become the best, there's other parts of your game you know you have to improve on, and that's where Tyler's at. He knows he has to be better defensively and he knows he's got to win more puck battles and he's working on that. But he's a blessed, talented guy. He can skate with anyone in the league and has as quick a release as anyone in the league."

With Benn and Seguin leading the way, hockey is cool again in Dallas. With the NFL's Cowboys fading from playoff contention and the NBA's Mavericks only mediocre, fans are filling the American Airlines Center to see the Stars. The average home attendance so far of 18,198 is at 96.2 percent capacity. Only two years ago, the Stars were 28th in the league in attendance, averaging just 14,658 fans per game.

"It's definitely been fun to see more people in the building and seeing our fans more excited," Benn said. "But at the same time, we know we have to do more than just win games in October and November. We have to win them into the spring too."

Right. It's all talk until then. And in 2015, talk is cheaper than ever.

Adrian Dater covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. Follow him @Adater.