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Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign D Simon Benoit (1 year, $775k) Re-signed ( 3 year, $1.35mm)

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One of his weaker games in a while. Very hit and miss today. A good signing and pleasent surprise, but the hype is a bit much. He might be a fine 5th d man
 
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stickty111 said:
Even as a #6 he's good, but 22 mins which is fringe top pair mins is bad. He's been terrific but he's getting overplayed and eventually luck will run out.
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My ideal world is him and McCabe together on the bottom pairing next season. Re-sign Benoit to the Liljegren deal (2 x 1.4) and have him and McCabe as bottom pairing for 3.4 million wouldnt be too bad to me.
 
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Namikaze Minato said:
My ideal world is him and McCabe together on the bottom pairing next season. Re-sign Benoit to the Liljegren deal (2 x 1.4) and have him and McCabe as bottom pairing for 3.4 million wouldnt be too bad to me.
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Benoit - McCabe third pairing next season is probably what everyone wants. Wouldn’t get much better than that.
 
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theathletic.com

Simon Benoit is the ultimate a stay-at-home blueliner and an offensive black hole

Simon Benoit knows his role with the Maple Leafs and does it well. There are few players like him in the NHL.
theathletic.com theathletic.com

The positive part of that for the Maple Leafs is that the 25-year-old doesn’t spend much time fishing the puck out of his own net. So far this season 195 defenceman have played at least 400 five-on-five minutes, and only 10 of them have been on the ice for fewer goals on a per-60-minute basis than Benoit’s 1.67. That’s not goaltending flukiness, either, as just six blueliners have shots against per 60 totals lower than Benoit’s 24.27.
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While his 45 blocks at five-on-five don’t jump off the page, they need to be understood in the proper context. Because his possession numbers are strong and he hasn’t played the whole season Benoit has only been on the ice for 495 shot attempts. That means he’s blocked 9.1 percent of all attempts he’s been present for at five-on-five, a number that falls between T.J. Brodie (8.9 percent) and all-time blocks leader Mark Giordano (10.5 percent).
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Hellcat said:
Why is it a League minimum player is universally loved by Toronto fans





and a 1st line legit star (pick anyone of JT, MM, WN) pisses us off on the regular ...
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Toronto has always loved blue collar gritty hard nose players. Like go back through the history of the team. It is a bit of a disconnect between what typically gets this fanbase going and what the core of the team is.
 
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DarkKnight said:
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This is the kind of brotherhood that teams build around to win in the playoffs

Next time someone punches Marner in the face, would be nice to see Nylander, Matthews or Tavares bully the f*** out of them the rest of the night

Hellcat said:
Why is it a League minimum player is universally loved by Toronto fans





and a 1st line legit star (pick anyone of JT, MM, WN) pisses us off on the regular ...
Click to expand...


We like this kind of hockey, hard working, fight back kind of hockey.

Toronto fans who are younger love the Nylander stuff, like a mogilny or a Sundin. Older fans love the Clark’s and gilmours and Muzzin’s

If Matthews bullied people he would be everything we would ever want
 
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Suntouchable13 said:
He still has not been afflicted with Maple Leafs disease. I am impressed. Everybody that comes here since 16-17 has gotten soft almost immediately after coming here. Muzzin, Reaves, Bert, Domi, etc. But this guy has kept the disease at bay.
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McCabe is all right too. The rest weren’t immune, it’s true. Something is wrong in that locker room.
 
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Hellcat said:
Why is it a League minimum player is universally loved by Toronto fans





and a 1st line legit star (pick anyone of JT, MM, WN) pisses us off on the regular ...
Click to expand...


Benoit plays the type of heart and soul, piss and vinegar, stick up for your teammates lay hits and sacrifice the body style that any hockey fan could love. He's also dirt cheap against the cap. I wouldn't put JT in the same category as Matthews, Marner, and Nylander, yes Tavares gets criticism but it's purely for his play on the ice. The Big Three get flack because they took this franchise for everything they could on their second contracts and haven't delivered in the playoffs, and playing a soft-style while doing so.

Don't think they'd be anywhere near as disliked had they won more than one round over 7 seasons or if they showed some pushback. Rielly has been here longer and as a core player also wears this teams failures, but he took a fair contract and has shown an ability and willingness to muck it up now and again and he shows up in the playoffs.

TheBeastCoast said:
Toronto has always loved blue collar gritty hard nose players. Like go back through the history of the team. It is a bit of a disconnect between what typically gets this fanbase going and what the core of the team is.
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Hell I wouldn't even say this is exclusive to Toronto. That Arber kid in Montreal is essentially a heavier, younger, but right now worse Benoit and they love him, and they've a long history of skilled HOF players. Hockey fans just love that blue collar style, we in Toronto have just had more of those types of players over our history.
 
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I actually think there is a fair bit of untapped offensive production in him.

I've been dying for a guy like him on our 3rd pair for ages.
 
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Would love to re-sign ...

www.sportsnet.ca

Quick Shifts: Simon Benoit 'would love to re-sign' with Maple Leafs

Animal lover Simon Benoit wants to re-sign in Toronto | Red-hot pending UFA Sam Reinhart details contract status | Why McDavid is rooting for Matthews to score 70 | Jets thrilled to make big trade early + 7 more NHL goodies...
www.sportsnet.ca www.sportsnet.ca

He can see a future in the city for Alice and himself — and Molson and Bourbon and Brandy.

"It's been great so far. I really appreciate my time here," says Benoit, a pending RFA.

"I would love to re-sign. But I don't like to think about it. I just think about my game tonight."

The undrafted 25-year-old is determined to keep improving. He pores over every one of his shifts on an iPad the day after a game. He doesn't dwell on the highlights, like his thunderous hits, fearless shot blocks, or desperate goal-line saves. ("In the moment, you don't even have time to think," he says. "You really just react and hope it works.")
 
I'm happy to see this guy turned it around.

I had high hopes for him entering this season. He's capable of playing over twenty minutes of physical in your face hockey every night. Guys like him don't just grow on trees around the arena.

Benoit isn't a useless turd.

The best thing about him is his willingness to punch a face. Reaves is garbage. And the rest of the team lack balls.

So it's Benoit's role to lose.

Would be nice to see him step into a top four spot next year. If anyone thinks Leafs fans don't appreciate the players they're wrong. We just so happen to really only appreciate the ones who actually show up every night and give it their all.

The fans will always support a player like that.
 
Been a great story so far. Some of his track record was team-effect related given how bad the Ducks are, but he looked awful in preseason too. Good for him.

I was sceptical, but I've come around to him earning his spot on the 3rd-pairing. However, let's pump the brakes on more than that. I am nervous as to how he'll handle ferocious playoff forechecking given his limitations with the puck. Maybe he can look at Schenn's evolution as a model?

In contrast, Lagesson's been an okay fill-in as an 8-9 D with our injuries, but I've been perplexed by the love-in he's gotten from some fans.
All Mod Cons said:
I actually think there is a fair bit of untapped offensive production in him.
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As in improving from the worst offensive dman in the league by a notable margin to maybe simply bad on offense? Maybe, haha...

He hardly scored even as a 20yo in the Q, can barely walk the line/get off point shots, and has to make the 'safe' play 100% of the time due to his skillet...

To be clear, I think it's good that he's well-aware of his limitations, and I'm fine with that from a physical 3rd-pair D, but I wouldn't want him to get any delusions of grandeur haha
 
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