The Stars currently sit eighth in the Western Conference with a record of 19-16-3.
In an expletive-filled tirade to several Dallas reporters, including that city's Morning News, Stars CEO Jim Lites blamed the team's two leading scorers, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, for the Stars' problems this season.
"They are f***ing horses**t, I don't know how else to put it," Lites said of Seguin and Benn after a 2-0 Stars win over the Predators. "The team was OK. But Seguin and Benn were terrible."
Seguin leads the Stars in points, with 11 goals and 21 assists in 38 games. Benn is the team's leading goal-scorer, with 15 goals and 15 assists in 38 games. In the Stars' previous 12 games, Seguin and Benn have combined for just 16 points.
Despite leading the team, Seguin and Benn are producing at a lower rate than in years past. Seguin is averaging .84 points per game, his lowest production during his six seasons with the Stars. He's averaging just .29 goals per game, his lowest totals since his 2010-11 rookie season. Benn is averaging .79 points per game, his slowest rate since his rookie season in 2009-10. Benn has averaged at least .90 points per game in each of his last five seasons.
"(Benn is) the leader of the team, he stirs the drink, but he's not doing it. He's got to get it done," Lites said. "(Seguin is) hitting posts, 'wah-wah.' That's what I say about hitting posts. Get a little bit closer to the action, actually go to the spot where you score goals. He doesn't do that, he never does that anymore. He used to be a pest to play against, people hated playing against Tyler Seguin, they don't anymore."
According to Natural Stat Trick, Seguin and Benn are getting 'close to the action', leading their team in high danger scoring attempts. Seguin ranks 25th in the league in high danger scoring attempts in 5-on-5 play, with 39. Benn ranks 32nd in the league, with 38.
Both Seguin and Benn are locked into expensive long-term contracts. Seguin signed an eight-year, $79 million extension that kicks in next year, and Benn signed an eight-year, $76 million deal in July 2016.
Lites hopes his rant will draw attention to Seguin and Benn and push them to produce more.
“We are a stars-driven league, and our stars aren’t getting it done,” Lites said. “It’s embarrassing, and no one writes it. Write it! These guys are not good enough. They’re not good enough for me, they’re not good enough for the owner, and they’re certainly not good enough for the general manager, who I can’t speak for, but it’s not good enough for the job he’s done. But we’ve had meeting after meeting after meeting. The accountability on the ice is not there.”
Lites told The Dallas Morning News that Stars owner Tom Gaglardi was equally frustrated with the two stars.
''The owner and I see this the same way,'' Lites said. ''We expect our best players to perform like other team's best players. Game in, game out, the best players on other teams are outplaying the best players on our team.''
The Stars have not qualified for the postseason in three of their previous five seasons. Their last appearance was in 2015-16, when they were eliminated in seven games in the second round by the Blues. The Stars finished three points out of a playoff spot in 2017-18.
“These guys have been great players, but we are 40 games into this season and they aren’t getting it done,” Lites said. “We are going to sleepwalk to another 14th place from the bottom and miss the playoffs.”
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