The Toronto Maple Leafs Brad Treliving era enters its second season, offering some quiet changes to the group. Many fans have an appetite for more dramatic change, namely one of the “core four” forwards being dealt, but for now, the leading stars remain unchanged. This does not mean that there are no differences in the overall teambuilding philosophies that steer the club.
Last season, the signing of the soon to be 26-year-old, left shot Simon Benoit made little fanfare. Benoit was an RFA left unsigned by the lowly Anaheim Ducks, and was hardly expected to alter the Leafs regular lineup. If anything, Benoit was thought of as a symbol that the Leafs might value size and physicality on the back end under Treliving, and not that he would take a regular shift in the playoffs. These expectations were shattered, earning Benoit an extension and a raise.
Have we seen the best from Benoit, or will he be able to surpass expectations once more? Let’s take a look at what Benoit brings to the ice, how he fits into the Leafs lineup, and if he might be able to be even more effective under new coach Craig Berube.
Stats
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL | 55 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2016–17 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL | 64 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| 2017–18 | Shawinigan Cataractes | QMJHL | 63 | 5 | 23 | 28 |
| 2018–19 | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 65 | 2 | 14 | 16 |
| 2019–20 | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 56 | 4 | 15 | 19 |
| 2020–21 | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 38 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| 2020–21 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021–22 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 53 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 2021–22 | San Diego Gulls | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022–23 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 78 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 2023–24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 64 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 2023–24 | Toronto Marlies | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
History
Despite his size, at 6‘4″, Benoit went undrafted out of the QMJHL, instead signing with the Ducks after his junior career ended. Even at this level, Benoit was not an offensive producer, though he was able to increase his production by a significant margin each season. The combination of his strengths and his progress was enough to earn him a career.
Benoit would join the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks AHL affiliate, for most of the next three seasons. Once again, Benoit’s offensive production hardly encapsulates his value. A better measurement is that Benoit, despite being undrafted, quickly shot up the depth chart, becoming a key piece of the Gulls lineup before earning a call-up in his third professional season.
From this point Benoit did not look back, sticking as an NHLer. The 2021–22 and 2022–23 Ducks were not good teams, but Benoit found his way into a regular NHL role at the ages of 23 and 24 nevertheless. Contextually, the Ducks did develop a glut of left-shot defencemen, as Urho Vaakanainen, Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, and Pavel Mintyukov all sat on the near horizon behind Cam Fowler.
His experience was certainly understated when he signed with the Leafs last summer, and getting left unsigned certainly did his reputation no favours. It might be fair to question how much Benoit’s performance was impacted by the quality of his teams as well. Last season, for example, another defensive defenceman, Ilya Lyubushkin, saw his effectiveness greatly increase after moving from the Ducks to the Leafs.
Profile
Needless to say, Benoit exceeded expectations, earning himself a raise on a three-year extension. Benoit became something of a fan favourite, as his physicality was greatly appreciated on a blueline that lacked net front bouncers. Armed with all the trappings of a physical stopper, Benoit has enough size and strength to be effective in confrontations during in-zone defence.
Benoit is able to play within himself as well, an important disposition for role players like himself. Benoit should not be a primary puck-moving option on a pairing, and in fact should be paired alongside a partner who is comfortable handling the puck as much as possible. Of course, Benoit will need to handle the puck at times, and he would do well to make smart, simple, and hard plays instead of pressing the attack.
Naturally, development here would go a long way. Leaf fans will appreciate the unique skill set of newcomer Chris Tanev, who is at least as much a physical stopper as Benoit, who also excels at breakout passes, transition defence, and ultimately controlling play. If Benoit can keep growing his puck skills, refining a few tricks with puck control and deception, it might go a long way towards maximizing his strengths in breaking up cycles.
As far as building on his current strengths, Benoit could cement himself in the lineup more firmly if he can excel as a top penalty killer. The Leafs need to prioritize their penalty killing effectiveness, and Benoit has the physical attributes to succeed here.
Fit
Benoit did seem to have great success when paired with Jake McCabe last season. While McCabe is also feisty and physical, he does have enough puck-moving abilities to be a great help to Benoit. At times the duo was the Leafs most effective pairing, but there is little chance that they could operate as a top pairing for anything other than an individual game or two. Still, Benoit’s possession numbers compared quite favourably to Joel Edmundson’s short and injury-riddled Leafs tenure.
With a coaching change inevitably bringing a lineup shakeup, there is no guarantee that the Benoit-McCabe duo will be reunited. With Morgan Rielly holding down the top spot on the left side, Benoit being in the regular lineup requires one of McCabe or Oliver Ekman-Larsson to play their weak side. Both veterans can handle this assignment, and their strengths as puck movers give Benoit the support he requires.
The best-case scenario for Benoit might be an assignment beside Timothy Liljegren, who is also quite capable with the puck. Liljegren has a fairly strong impact on controlling play, but needs some muscle alongside to complement his game. In some sense, this might be the best-case scenario for Liljegren as well. If the duo can bring the best out of each other this could be the best Leafs blueline of the Auston Matthews era. Benoit and Liljegren bring fairly opposite strengths, and have both shown some ability.
On the other hand, Benoit is by no means guaranteed a spot in this lineup. His cap hit of $1.35 million is common among Leafs, in part because it is fully buriable in the AHL. The lineup power vacuum created by new coach Craig Berube might work against Benoit. The Leafs have some interesting low-cost options on the right side, which means that Benoit might be battling those players, as well as whatever loss in effectiveness that comes from playing McCabe or Ekman-Larsson on their weak sides.
Philippe Myers, Nicolas Mattinen, and Conor Timmins are all tall, at least filling a similar silhouette to Benoit. Myers is a defensive option, has more NHL experience than Benoit, and is a better skater. Meanwhile, Mattinen is a bit of a wildcard, and brings a much higher degree of offence to his game. This might be the end of the road for Conor Timmins in Toronto, but he certainly provides an offensive element.
Depending on how injuries shake out through the season, Benoit might make a reasonable option alongside Timmins or Mattinen as a makeshift third pairing. If any of those three right shots do make a strong impression on Berube during training camp, Benoit might find himself out of the opening night lineup.
With some luck and a consistent effort to grow as a player, Benoit might have his best years ahead of him still. At this point, he should be thought of as a third pairing defensive option. The upside is not much higher, but there is a future where Benoit can handle more minutes, given the right defence partner at even strength and a prominent penalty killing role.
There is not much reason to believe that Benoit’s play will fall off of a cliff this coming season. Given the attrition of an NHL year, it is a near guarantee that Benoit plays a good deal of games for the Leafs. With that said, the best-case scenario for the team might see them faced with the same difficult decisions that saw Benoit scratched at times last season.
