Bleacher report: The Leafs have signed a forward for a season-long salary of $1.35 million.
Two weeks subsequent to Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving’s two-year contract extension for winger Bobby McMann, Treliving signed defenseman Simon Benoit to a nearly identical deal.
Simon Benoit and the Toronto Maple Leafs have agreed to a three-year contract extension that has a salary cap cost of $1.35 million. This is exactly the same amount each season that McMann agreed to on March 13, according to Hockey Insider Chris Johnston’s report on Friday morning.
Benoit signed a one-year contract worth the league minimum of $775,000 one-way with the team in late August of last year. Similar to McMann, Benoit began the season on waivers and was not claimed by any team in the league. He has since worked with coach Sheldon Keefe to bolster his confidence.
The soon-to-be 26-year-old has given the team a reliable bottom pairing defender in Jake McCabe, with whom he has performed admirably. He has played more than 20 minutes seven times, including three games of at least 22:45, and has teased supporters with the ability to enter a second pairing in an emergency.
Players for the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t care if they are undrafted
Similar to McMann, Simon Benoit was not selected in the NHL Entry Draft; but, in contrast to his Wainwright colleague, he experienced a distinct amateur career. Benoit played for the Shawinigan Cataractes in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for three seasons before signing an AHL contract with the San Diego Gulls after going undrafted. Meanwhile, McMann decided to play Junior A hockey and attend college.
Following his debut season, Benoit was awarded a three-year entry-level contract by the Anaheim Ducks. He would play in the AHL and NHL for portions of each season, with the exception of the final year of the contract (2022–2023), during which he spent most of the season with John Klingberg. The Laval, Quebec native was an unrestricted free agent last summer after the Ducks failed to qualify him.
Benoit joined with the Toronto on August 28th without the option of a multi-year contract, and Maple Leafs supporters have watched the big, strong defenceman dish out some serious body checks. Benoit has only scored one goal, therefore he doesn’t contribute much offensively.
Leave a Reply