Maple Leafs sign fan-favorite defenseman to three-year extension

Benoit, 25, has played a larger role than expected in Toronto this season and has quickly become a fan favorite. Few expected the Quebec native to even make the NHL after he went undrafted and failed to secure an NHL deal when his time in major junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes ended in 2018. He began his professional career on a minor league contract with AHL San Diego in 2018-19, impressing with a defensively sound rookie season and earning an entry-level contract from the Ducks near the end of the season.

It was still a while before he’d make his NHL debut, receiving a couple of short recalls in 2019-20 that didn’t result in any major league action. His first shot came near the end of the 2020-21 campaign, where he impressed with a positive shot-attempt share at even strength in heavy defensive usage while logging 17:12 per game across six appearances.

Benoit didn’t make the Ducks out of camp in 2021 but wasn’t in the minors for long, breaking onto the NHL scene for most of the season and notching a goal and four assists in 53 showings. His possession numbers dragged slightly but were still above acceptable for a depth defender on a rebuilding and defensively challenged team. He then earned a qualifying offer from Anaheim, who re-signed him to a one-year, two-way deal for 2022-23.

Last season, injuries forced Benoit into a top-four role with the Ducks, who remain the worst defensive team of the salary cap era, allowing 4.09 goals per game. Unsurprisingly, Benoit’s boxcar stats read as some of the worst in the league, recording 10 points and a -29 rating in 78 games while playing over 19 minutes per game, often saddled with the defensive responsibility of covering for the rather one-dimensional John Klingberg at even strength as his partner. His possession metrics struggled as a result, although maybe not as much as expected. He logged a 41.4 CF% at even strength, which was only two points worse than his off-ice CF% despite 63.8% of his zone starts coming in the defensive end.

However, with Anaheim looking to make room for a deep group of young defense prospects like Jackson LaCombe, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger, they opted to not qualify Benoit last summer and let him reach unrestricted free agency, where the Leafs picked him up on a one-year, league-minimum deal, also the first one-way contract of his career. Still, most expected Benoit to serve as the eighth or ninth option on the organization depth chart behind other depth defenders like Klingberg, who also signed a one-year deal with Toronto over the summer, veteran Mark Giordano and Conor Timmins.

He did end up beginning the season with AHL Toronto, clearing waivers near the end of training camp. Just two days later, an early-season rash of injuries over the Toronto blue line forced Benoit’s first recall of the season. After bouncing up and down between leagues over the next two months, he was permanently recalled to the Leafs on Nov. 27 and hasn’t looked back.

With Klingberg’s season finishing prematurely due to a lingering hip injury and Giordano, Timmins and Timothy Liljegren all missing significant time, Benoit has made 54 appearances for the Leafs, scoring once and adding four assists. His even-strength CF% has rebounded to 49.3 and he’s controlled possession quality at the best rate of his career, posting a 50.3 xGF%. While a decrease in ice time and some easier matchups certainly help, he’s been on the ice for 0.54 expected goals against per game this year compared to 0.96 last season with Anaheim. He also leads Toronto with 205 hits.

Benoit has continued to factor in down the stretch with the Leafs still cycling through injuries on defense, even skating in a top-pairing role alongside Jake McCabe in Thursday night’s 5-1 win over the Capitals. His role in the postseason once players Liljegren, Joel Edmundson and Morgan Rielly are ready to return from their injuries is less clear, though.

The physical 6-foot-3 blue-liner now gets legitimate stability for the first time in his professional career and will continue in a depth role for Toronto until his deal expires in 2027. He’ll be a UFA upon expiry.