from Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News,

While getting Kari Lehtonen signed was exciting news for Stars fans Friday, the real contract they have been waiting on is a new one for Jamie Benn. After all, the 23-year-old forward, who played in the NHL All-Star Game last season, is expected to be the centerpiece of the team for years to come.

So why isn’t he signed yet?

Part of it is the uncertainty of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, and part of it is defining a value for Benn. In the past, the Stars gave out “bridge” contracts for about two or three years and about $3 million. Loui Eriksson and James Neal took those deals. There is also a comparable in Claude Giroux of the Flyers, who is in the middle of a three-year deal for $3.75 million.

However, Benn seems to want more than that. With several young players signing deals of five or six years near $6 million a season, the market seems to be changing, and the Benn camps seems to want to take advantage of that. Because neither side is talking, the numbers are speculation, but there clearly are differences that the two sides have not been able to bridge.

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