A graphic celebrating the career of former NHL defenseman Jordie Benn Photo credit: NHLPA

Long-time NHL defenseman Jordie Benn called it a career for good this summer, announcing his retirement just ahead of the 2024-25 season.

Jordie has always been in the shadow of his younger brother Jamie, who has been the captain of the Dallas Stars for many years now. However, while he has never won any individual awards like his younger brother has, he still had a very respectable career in his own right.

He appeared in over 600 career regular-season games split between many teams. Nearly half of those games came with the Stars however, where he played alongside his brother for parts of six seasons. In honor of his career, the Stars made a special post congratulating him on a awesome career.

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Unlike Jamie, who was drafted by the Stars in the 5th round of the 2007 draft, Jordie was never drafted. As such, his journey to the NHL is all that more impressive. Very few undrafted players have ever played in more games than Jordie, with most playing a handful at most. Most certainly to not get posts from the NHLPA celebrating their careers after they hang the skates up for the last time.

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While he was effectively a career bottom-pair defensemen, his contributions to his teams should not be understated as a reliable, physical blueliner.

Unlike many bottom-pair defenders, Jordie was actually quite good at shutting down his opponents. He even finished his career with a rating of +19 despite often getting tough matchups and playing on mediocre teams. He also chipped in 26 goals and 137 points throughout his career. Enjoy your retirement Jordie!