First, in Columbus, the Stars will welcome back their “cornerstone” player in Benn who recently signed a new 5-year, $26.25 million dollar deal after sitting out the beginning of the season over contract disputes.

There was some thought that Benn may not be ready to go in tonight’s game due to his working VISA not being ready in time.  But according to the Dallas Stars Inside Edge, the paperwork has cleared and thus allowing Benn to suit up for the Stars.

The 23-year old scored 26 goals and 63 points last season for the Stars.  The team was 2-2-1 to start the year without Benn’s services.

While one player rejoins their club, another household name will sit and watch tonight’s action.  Gabriel Landeskog will not suit up for the Colorado Avalanche tonight when they visit Rexall Place to battle the Edmonton Oilers.

According to the team’s official Twitter account the youngest captain in the NHL will miss the game due to “head and neck issues.”  The club described the hit that Landeskog received against the San Jose Sharks’ Brad Stuart on Saturday as “devastating.” The captain did return to finish the game and after admitted that the hit was clean.  The timetable for his return is uncertain at this point.

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Joe Nieuwendyk, GM of the Stars, is pleased that a deal was able to get done so early into the shortened season, realizing the impact Benn has on his club.

“We know how important he is to our hockey club and at the end of the day, it’s the right thing. It’s good for our hockey club, it’s great for Jamie.” – courtesy of the associated press.

Bob McKenzie of TSN.ca states that Jamie Benn was eager to get a deal done so he could return to Dallas and play with his brother Jordie.  There will be some brotherly love in Big D after Thursday and you can bet that Jamie will be buying the first round.

The Stars are doubtful that they’ll have Benn in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the St. Louis Blues thanks to immigration issues he has to sort through according to Nieuwendyk.  The club is hoping that he’ll be ready for Monday night’s game when the Stars travel to Columbus.

Nieuwendyk went one step further to express his satisfaction that Benn will be a member of the Stars for the next five years and Dan Rosen, senior writer for NHL.com captured it on Twitter, calling him the cornerstone of the franchise.

Dallas fans can relax. Jamie Benn signs for 5 yrs, $26.25 million. GM Joe Nieuwendyk says he is “this franchise’s cornerstone player.”

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) January 25, 2013

Benn’s signing could have a direct impact on Ryan O’Reilly’s contract  negotiations with the Colorado Avalanche.  The 21-year old is holding for a new deal with the Avs and is said to be wanting $5MM annually on a short-term deal according to ESPN.com’s Victoria Matiash.

While O’Reilly doesn’t have the track record during his first three years in the league that Benn does, the 2nd round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft did score 18 goals and add 33 assists for 55 points in 81 games last season.

Seeing what Benn got over five years will only keep O’Reilly’s demands high and you have to think that the Avs won’t give him $5MM per season over two or three years until he can prove that he’s a Jamie Benn type player.

Benn took to Twitter shortly after the deal was finalized to express his excitement, knowing he’ll be a Dallas Star for the next half a decade.

Couldn’t be happier to be a part of the @dallasstars for 5 more years! @dartheighter here i come! #BrothersBennReunite

— Jamie Benn (@jamiebenn14) January 25, 2013

The 23-year old scored 23 goals and added 37 assists for 63 points in 71 games.  The former 5th round draft pick was holding out for a deal similar to those of Phil Kessel, Jeff Skinner and John Tavares.  It’s safe to say he got the deal he wanted.

Benn is expected to be in Dallas sometime on Friday, with hopes of being ready to play on Saturday when the Stars take on the St. Louis Blues.

Benn was playing in Germany during the lockout that lasted 119 days but returned to North America when the work stoppage was lfited, while waiting for a new deal to be hammered out.

The Benn signing now leaves P.K. Subban and Ryan O’Reilly as the only two high profiled players without a deal.