Benn brushes off Stars CEO's criticism: 'I don't play for him'

Warning: Story contains coarse language

Jamie Benn downplayed the remarks from Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites when asked about the comments on Saturday, less than 24 hours after the tirade.

"I don't play for him," the Stars captain told reporters, including the Dallas Morning News' Matthew DeFranks. "I play for every player in this room and the coaching staff. I come to the rink and ... I'm proud to be a Dallas Star and proud to go out there every night and battle with these guys in games."

Lites lambasted Benn and Tyler Seguin in a pair of interviews on Friday. He told The Athletic's Sean Shapiro that the duo "are fucking horseshit" and that the two forwards "were terrible" in Thursday's win over the Nashville Predators. He then told DeFranks that the "terrible play" from Seguin and Benn has "pissed me off."

Seguin also addressed the criticism on Saturday.

"I hear the message," he said, according to DeFranks. "I think Jamie and I hear the message. I think the whole team hears it."

Seguin added that Lites' assessments came as "a little bit of a surprise" because the two haven't had a conversation since the end of last season, according to Mark Stepneski of the club's official website.

Meanwhile, Lites implied that he wants Seguin, Benn, and their teammates to use his critiques as motivation.

"Hope they jam it down my throat," Lites wrote in a text to The Athletic's Scott Burnside on Friday night.

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