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

[All Mod Cons]

This guy has been an outstanding acquisition. Looks like Craig has full trust in the guy and will be a mainstay

 

[HellasLEAF]

Love Benoit exactly for what he is.

 

[The Shadow]

Craig got a lot of heat for some
Of his Calgary moves. But he’s made some great ones here.

 

[Mess]

Remember the days when our former GM thought Justin Holl at $2 mil was so valuable that he protected him in the expansion draft?

Just look at the return on investment with a player like Benoit making $1.35 mil now and what kind of an upgrade that is on simply replacing a guy like Holl.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Remember the days when our former GM thought Justin Holl at $2 mil was so valuable that he protected him in the expansion draft?
Just look at the return on investment with a player like Benoit making $1.35 mil now and what kind of an upgrade that is on simply replacing a guy like Holl.

Early 2020s Holl to Benoit is a downgrade, and Holl at 2m is better value relative to impact than Benoit at 1.35m.
Holl played 4-5 minutes more a night in a much tougher role and got better results.

 

[CabanaBoy5]

Early 2020s Holl to Benoit is a downgrade, and Holl at 2m is better value relative to impact than Benoit at 1.35m.
Holl played 4-5 minutes more a night in a much tougher role and got better results.

Holl was a lightening rod of criticism with the fanbase, justifiably though not totally culpable. The main reason being he was playing higher up in the lineup than he should have been. Benoit is excelling at his #5-6 slot on the defence. Also, he has more bite to his game and is less prone to the mindnumbingly stupid plays that Holl was.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Early 2020s Holl to Benoit is a downgrade, and Holl at 2m is better value relative to impact than Benoit at 1.35m.
Holl played 4-5 minutes more a night in a much tougher role and got better results.

Yes perhaps - but we don't account for Holl trying to do shit he had no business trying with the puck. He didn't always fail but it happened enough to be a problem, see how historically bad he was against Tampa.

I'd bump Benoit up if he kept it simple.

 

[Fogelhund]

I love the way Benoit plays, his physicality, really good value for that contract. I wonder how good he’d look with Muzzin beside him? Holl wasn’t much without Muzzin, a true testament to how good Muzzin was.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Holl was a lightening rod of criticism with the fanbase, justifiably though not totally culpable. The main reason being he was playing higher up in the lineup than he should have been. Benoit is excelling at his #5-6 slot on the defence. Also, he has more bite to his game and is less prone to the mindnumbingly stupid plays that Holl was.

Yes perhaps - but we don't account for Holl trying to do shit he had no business trying with the puck. He didn't always fail but it happened enough to be a problem, see how historically bad he was against Tampa. I'd bump Benoit up if he kept it simple.

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.