The Toronto Maple Leafs have a surplus of defenseman and could look to trade one away.
Toronto has nine NHL-caliber defenseman, and the Maple Leafs will likely only carry seven, so the Maple Leafs could look to trade one or two. If Toronto does trade a defenseman away, the Maple Leafs would likely look to acquire a forward.
Yet, ahead of the season, Maple Leafs analyst Thomas Williams of EditorInLeaf urges Toronto to trade away hard-hitting defenseman Simon Benoit.
“The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly looking to improve their roster as soon as possible and that may mean moving on from one particular defenseman: Heavy-hitter, hard-nosed blueliner Simon Benoit…,” Williams wrote.
“Moving out Benoit and adding this hypothetical puck-moving defenseman in either the same or a separate trade would suddenly change the dynamic of this blue line for the better. It does feel like overkill to have someone like the 26-year-old defenseman in the lineup when Tanev, McCabe, and Carlo all exist here too,” Williams added.
Part of the reason why Benoit could be the one to be traded is due to the fact that he doesn’t have any trade protection. So, he could be dealt with without having to approve it.
Benoit is entering the second year of his three-year, $4.05 million deal. The French-Canadian defenseman is a hard-hitting shutdown defenseman who would have plenty of teams interested in acquiring him.
Benoit Had an Up-And-Down Season for the Maple Leafs
Benoit had a very up-and-down season last year, but Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube remained confident in him.
Berube continued to play Benoit and allowed him to find his game. He ended up coming in clutch, scoring an OT winner in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series against the Ottawa Senators.
Yet, looking back on the season, Benoit admits he struggled at times. But, he’s thankful Berube never lost faith in him. Part of the reason why Benoit felt he struggled was due to him having a newborn.
“For me, it was a long process this season,” Benoit said. “I struggled little bit at the beginning of the season; my game wasn’t quite there yet. And management was good enough to just let me take my sleep back and work my way through it. After Christmas, I managed all the things that was happening at home. It’s the best thing that could’ve happened for me. My baby’s just fantastic, and I have a wonderful girlfriend at home. So, it’s fun.”
Benoit finished the year recording 1 goal and 9 assists in 78 games. He added 1 goal and 1 assist in 13 playoff games.
Toronto Looking to Move a Defenseman
Since taking over as general manager, Brad Treliving has done a nice job building out the Maple Leafs’ blue line.
Treliving wanted to make Toronto a harder team to play against, and he’s done just that. But, Maple Leafs insider James Mirtle expects the team to trade a defenseman for a puck-mover.
“The other thing is the Leafs have six pretty solid established NHL D right now in Chris Tanev, Jake McCabe, Morgan Rielly, Carlo, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Simon Benoit,” Mirtle wrote. “They’d like to somehow get another puck mover back there. Which would mean moving one of the more defensive types out.
“Part of the reason they got hemmed in against the Panthers in the playoffs was their inability to handle Florida’s forecheck. That comes back to the Leafs’ struggles breaking out, moving the puck and maintaining pressure in the offensive zone. Treliving and Berube have to solve that somehow, or they’ll just be hoping to get luckier next spring,” Mirtle added.
The Maple Leafs have just under a month to make that move before the season starts.
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