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

[hamzarocks]

He was very good last year a legit #5D

He was pretty ass the first 25 games this year a 7/8D who kept taking penalties and making dumb choices

Last 15 games playing like a good bottom pairing D again.

At 1.3M hes still a great 6-7D to have

 

[GoonieFace]

Viewers are generally pretty bad at understanding defensive play. They miss defensive details, overemphasize goal events, misattribute things to defense and goaltending, and focus pretty exclusively on reactionary defensive plays - the flashier the better. Ironically, this leads to some players getting a boost in defensive perception by being worse defensively overall, but being skilled in reactionary defensive actions. There are also some people in this fanbase that will only appreciate one specific type of defenseman. Holl wasn't some bulking hitter, and he had the occasional flashy gaffe, and that made him a lightning rod for a subsection of the fanbase, but he was pretty effective at many of the quieter, less flashy aspects of defensive play.

Yes, Holl had a bad playoff series in 2022-2023, and yes, he made a glaringly bad play from time to time over the years, but he had been an effective complimentary player playing 20+ minutes a night in one of the toughest roles on the team at a really good price point. Benoit had one year as a decent complimentary bottom pairing defenseman. They don't really compare.

Yep, nobody understands what they are watching except you. A.I. has come a long way

 

[ClarkSittler]

Viewers are generally pretty bad at understanding defensive play. They miss defensive details, overemphasize goal events, misattribute things to defense and goaltending, and focus pretty exclusively on reactionary defensive plays - the flashier the better. Ironically, this leads to some players getting a boost in defensive perception by being worse defensively overall, but being skilled in reactionary defensive actions. There are also some people in this fanbase that will only appreciate one specific type of defenseman. Holl wasn't some bulking hitter, and he had the occasional flashy gaffe, and that made him a lightning rod for a subsection of the fanbase, but he was pretty effective at many of the quieter, less flashy aspects of defensive play.

Yes, Holl had a bad playoff series in 2022-2023, and yes, he made a glaringly bad play from time to time over the years, but he had been an effective complimentary player playing 20+ minutes a night in one of the toughest roles on the team at a really good price point. Benoit had one year as a decent complimentary bottom pairing defenseman. They don't really compare.

Yes Holl is so good Detroit put him on waivers this year, nobody claimed him and he's barely holding on to the #6 spot with a team in the bottom 3rd of the league.

 

[IPS]

Viewers are generally pretty bad at understanding defensive play

And none quite as bad as you. We tried telling you for years that Holl is a terrible player but your Dubas blinders just couldn't quite let you see reality. We told you directly that Holl would be exposed the second he played for another team and exactly that happened.

If you knew what was best for you, you'd just take this L and move on.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Yep, nobody understands what they are watching except you.

Lots of people understand what they're watching. That's why our coaches limit Benoit's minutes and role relative to some of our former defensemen, and why he only gets 1.35m coming off a career year, instead of something like say 3.4m. And while some here struggle to understand what they're watching, most understand what they're watching and just don't understand how much there is that they're not watching, and their limitations.

I never said I was immune from this. These things are types of universal mistakes that people make when watching sports in general (and even more so in a fast pace, free flowing game like hockey), and that's why the analytical revolution has been so widespread and dominant across all sports. But when you understand and accept your biases and limitations, you learn the things to look out for, expand what you watch, use tools to assist, and get a more accurate picture. Unfortunately, some choose the path of thinking they're already perfect, and ridiculing the tools and people that try to help them. That tends to lead to a narrow view of what defense means, and they struggle to appreciate different types of defensemen and the positives they provide. The venom against some of our former players is a perfect example.

Yes Holl is so good Detroit put him on waivers this year, nobody claimed him and he's barely holding on to the #6 spot with a team in the bottom 3rd of the league.

What a player is doing now on a mess of a team doesn't change what a player did years ago. Benoit was bad in 2022-2023, got waived last year, and is struggling this year, but that doesn't take away from the good play he brought to the team during most of last year.