LAS VEGAS -- We talk easily of the sacrifices players make when it comes to things like the Olympics or the World Cup of Hockey.

It's a term that rolls easily off the tongue. My good pal Pierre LeBrun recently wrote about how Matt Duchene played through a separated shoulder and helped Canada earn its third consecutive championship in best-on-best hockey.

But what if the notion of sacrifice means something else -- like, say, the sacrifice of choosing not to play for your country? Does it mean the sacrifice is any less meaningful? Or difficult?

Just ask Jamie Benn about these matters. The Dallas Stars captain won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in Sochi in 2014 and was one of the first 16 Canadians named to the World Cup roster back in early March.

But as he was recovering from offseason core muscle surgery, Benn realized that he could not do what would be expected of him -- and what he would expect of himself -- at the World Cup and then still be the captain he is expected to be -- and that he expects himself to be -- when the NHL regular season began. So he stayed home.

"It was disappointing, but I think you've got to look at the bigger picture, and the bigger picture was being ready for this year with the Stars," said Benn recently. "Obviously, we want to make another long run and build off last year. I think I did the smart thing by not jumping into it and going to the World Cup and risking further injury. It's disappointing, but I made the right decision and I feel good right now."

It was the second summer in a row that Benn has undergone an offseason procedure. The issues haven't been serious, relatively speaking, but Benn has planned the procedures so he would not miss time during the regular season. That said, Benn's summers have been spent rehabbing and resting, as opposed to doing normal summer activities.

"I think we got a little bit of an eye-opener just at the end of last year," says Jamie Benn of the Stars' seven-game playoff series loss to the Blues. Scott Rovak/NHL/Getty Images

"I couldn't golf," Benn said. "I didn't get a round of golf in this summer. So that sucked."

Even in the best of times, however, Benn admits that he's not an accomplished golfer. "I'm not that good," he said with a laugh.

But don't look for Benn to make up for lost golf time during the season. "Golf is for the summer, hockey is for the winter," he said.

This is a crucial year for the Stars. Because so much of Dallas' success runs through Benn, it is a crucial year for the 27-year-old Victoria, British Columbia, native too.

"There are a handful of players in the NHL who can impose their will on a game," said longtime NHL executive and analyst Frank Provenzano. "Benn is one of them."

Benn takes wearing the "C" seriously, says Provenzano. "There is no doubt this is his team and his room," Provenzano said of Benn. "I think his decision to forego the World Cup in order to be ready for the season opener is proof of that."

The Stars are coming off a surprise Central Division crown and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. But in the end, injuries and suspect goaltending let Dallas down in its seven-game series loss to the St. Louis Blues.

"I think we got a little bit of an eye-opener just at the end of last year," Benn said. "We found out that it's not easy just to get through two rounds. We got through one but couldn't make it through the second, so we know that it takes that much more effort. It takes a whole team effort."

Benn is coming off a career-best 41-goal campaign and a career-best 89 points in 2015-16. And while the Stars are as deep as they have been since their glory days in the late 1990s, Benn is the emotional fulcrum of the team. "I think I'm learning to be a better player, better captain every time I come to the rink," Benn said.

And here's the thing: It doesn't get any easier. Not if you want to take those painful last few steps to a championship. Many players and teams never make it.

"I think that he's been the model of trying to lead the team and play the game the right way," said Stars head coach Lindy Ruff. "First you do it on the ice. He's a big believer in what we're doing. And when he goes out and does it, he's a guy the players love to follow."

With that respect, comes added responsibility.

"He understands with the success or where we finished last year comes more pressure this year to try to duplicate where we're at," Ruff added.

The Stars will begin the season with some uncertainty because of injuries to key personnel, including Tyler Seguin, who also missed the World Cup of Hockey. Sequin suffered a hairline fracture of his heel during pre-tournament play. Winger Ales Hemsky suffered a groin injury during the World Cup and is still rehabbing. Mattias Janmark and Cody Eakin are also unlikely to be in the opening-night lineup on Thursday.

If there is a constant, though, it's Benn and his place in the lineup.

"Very proud of him and not surprised," said GM Jim Nill. "He's stayed true to his foundation, he's stayed true to his roots. When he's got something to say he says it. But other than that he's a very personable guy, very humble. But he knows now that when there's a time to step up, he's got to step up, and he's taken that upon himself."