The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Friday that they had come to terms with defenceman Simon Benoit on a 3 year, $4.05M contract extension.
The stay at home blue liner has 1G and 4A across 55 games with Leafs this season, after joining them via free agency. An undrafted free agent, the 25 year old eventually caught on with the Anaheim Ducks in 2020-21, spending parts of 3 seasons with the club.
Over the course of his 191 NHL game career, Benoit has accumulated 5G, 15A and 128 PIM. His new deal will see him earn $1.35M per year in AAV, which represents a sizeable boost to the $775K he was earning this season.
The 6’4″ 205lbs defender has been a steady bottom pairing player for the Maple Leafs in a year that’s seen their blue line face its fair share of bumps, bruises, and suspensions.
The signing is the second extension in as many weeks for Toronto, who also handed out a 2 year extension to forward Bobby McMann two weeks prior.
Toronto, who currently sit in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division with a 41-22-9 record, are next in action Saturday night vs. the Buffalo Sabres in a 7pm ET showdown.
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.