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.

 

[DarkKnight]

Yes Holl was so good we gave up on him and another team put him on waivers. He cleared too, because he’s garbage. Agreed, some fans don’t understand defensive play. GM’s and coaches do. Put Benoit on waivers, he wouldn’t last 15 minutes. Reality meets lame Dubist spin, zzzzzzz.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

Yes Holl was so good we gave up on him and another team put him on waivers. He cleared too, because he’s garbage. Agreed, some fans don’t understand defensive play. GM’s and coaches do. Put Benoit on waivers, he wouldn’t last 15 minutes. Reality meets lame Dubist spin, zzzzzzz.

Imagine if Duby had found Benny....it would be the greatest un-earthing of a gem in centuries...but alas...it was just a nice polished stone found by the oldtime "Hockey guy" Brad...

 

[BraveCanadian]

Benoit is a limited player but I love that he is old school, plays within those limitations, and mixes it up on the regular. The defense on the Leafs has so much more snarl than a few years back and in here for it.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Yes Holl was so good we gave up on him and another team put him on waivers. He cleared too, because he’s garbage. Agreed, some fans don’t understand defensive play. GM’s and coaches do. Put Benoit on waivers, he wouldn’t last 15 minutes.

Lol. Treliving did put Benoit on waivers, and he cleared. Womp womp. One would think that would help you understand that players (especially complimentary players) can fluctuate over time. Just like how Benoit was garbage in 2022-2023 and is struggling this year much more than last. How Holl is doing now in Detroit is pretty irrelevant to what he provided us in the early 2020s. His play with us almost doubled his salary, even with his play starting to fall off towards the end.

Imagine if Duby had found Benny....

He found a bunch. Bogosian, Schenn, Benn, Lyubushkin, Ozhighanov, etc.

 

[DarkKnight]

Lol. Treliving did put Benoit on waivers, and he cleared. Womp womp. One would think that would help you understand that players (especially complimentary players) can fluctuate over time. Just like how Benoit was garbage in 2022-2023 and is struggling this year much more than last. How Holl is doing now in Detroit is pretty irrelevant to what he provided us in the early 2020s. His play with us almost doubled his salary, even with his play starting to fall off towards the end.

He found a bunch. Bogosian, Schenn, Benn, Lyubushkin, Ozhighanov, etc.

Yes, he had to send him down last year at end of preseason, he needed waivers, when he first came and was injured to start camp, womp womp. It's hilarious you can't just admit Holl is garbage, what a hill to die on, a loser d man, but hey when you've lost all credibility here why not. The fact you're still trying to float his boat is sad.

 

[The Shadow]

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.

Dubas was a joke as a GM in many ways. What a disaster

 

[therealkoho]

He's been dying to post that. Called it the moment he made it about Lil vs Benoit a couple weeks ago. What a pedestrian world.

He was quite good last night and it was high paced game so interesting to watch how he'd fare. Gap control was decent.

I watched a bunch of the Sharks/Knights game last night. Liljegren looked OK nothing fancy and no glaring faux pas'. I'll tell you what though what we have in Benny is light years ahead of whatever the Leafs were going to get out of Tim. Great job Tre, improved the D and helped the cap, perfect trade.

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.

Srsly why talking about Justin Holl, he's been gone, so gone that even Detroit is even benching him.

Man some of you guys really need to let go

 

[Stephen]

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.

Those are universally unpopular traits for any complimentary player, and the opposite traits are exactly why Benoit is appreciated.

Repeating your own words back to you... Flashy gaffes, glaringly bad play...

 

[Stephen]

Anyway, we don't need another Kyle Dubas referendum in a Simon Benoit appreciation thread.

 

[MilkofthePoppy]

Comparing Holl to Benoit... You serious? Benny does the little things in his own zone that Holl was incapable of. Not to mention the glaring difference in physicality between the two players.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Yes, he had to send him down last year at end of preseason, he needed waivers, when he first came and was injured to start camp, womp womp. It's hilarious you can't just admit Holl is garbage

He didn't have to send Benoit down. He chose to send him down, because he was bad in his 4 pre-season games and didn't make the roster, after playing poorly the season prior in Anaheim. Even this player you like went through waivers and cleared. And instead of 3.4m, he was league minimum, so he doesn't even have salary to blame. So it's a bit odd that you'd attack other players for going through the same thing at some point in their careers, when you don't hold it against Benoit. Just as Benoit's struggles in 2022-2023 and this year don't diminish what he did for us in 2023-2024, Holl's struggles in Detroit don't diminish what he did for us in the early 2020s. I'm not sure why you're trying to pretend he was garbage, but he wasn't.

Those are universally unpopular traits for any complimentary player, and the opposite traits are exactly why Benoit is appreciated. Repeating your own words back to you... Flashy gaffes, glaringly bad play...

Not "glaringly bad play". I said "A glaringly bad play from time to time over the years". Those aren't the same things. If you're going to "repeat my own words back to me", then maybe actually do that.

A casual viewer will generally only see a fraction of the defensive actions and decisions that take place in a game, and then remember a fraction of those. The flashier a mistake, the more that viewer will tend to exaggerate the actual relative danger and impact, and remember them. This works against players that are more prone to flashier mistakes, as even though those mistakes make up a miniscule portion of their total actions, decisions, and overall impact, some will give too much importance to them and it will taint their perception of a player who may very well provide excellent play in the other 99.9% of the time.

 

[DarkKnight]

He didn't have to send Benoit down. He chose to send him down, because he was bad in his 4 pre-season games and didn't make the roster, after playing poorly the season prior in Anaheim. Even this player you like went through waivers and cleared. And instead of 3.4m, he was league minimum, so he doesn't even have salary to blame. So it's a bit odd that you'd attack other players for going through the same thing at some point in their careers, when you don't hold it against Benoit. Just as Benoit's struggles in 2022-2023 and this year don't diminish what he did for us in 2023-2024, Holl's struggles in Detroit don't diminish what he did for us in the early 2020s. I'm not sure why you're trying to pretend he was garbage, but he wasn't.

Not "glaringly bad play". I said "A glaringly bad play from time to time over the years". Those aren't the same things. If you're going to "repeat my own words back to me", then maybe actually do that.

A casual viewer will generally only see a fraction of the defensive actions and decisions that take place in a game, and then remember a fraction of those. The flashier a mistake, the more that viewer will tend to exaggerate the actual relative danger and impact, and remember them. This works against players that are more prone to flashier mistakes, as even though those mistakes make up a miniscule portion of their total actions, decisions, and overall impact, some will give too much importance to them and it will taint their perception of a player who may very well provide excellent play in the other 99.9% of the time.

He was hurt to start camp and didn't catch up. Sorry, I stopped reading after that. I'm sure I missed nothing of value, per usual. The Holl guy, great look for you. Says it all.

 

[Stephen]

Not "glaringly bad play". I said "A glaringly bad play from time to time over the years". Those aren't the same things. If you're going to "repeat my own words back to me", then maybe actually do that.

A casual viewer will generally only see a fraction of the defensive actions and decisions that take place in a game, and then remember a fraction of those. The flashier a mistake, the more that viewer will tend to exaggerate the actual relative danger and impact, and remember them. This works against players that are more prone to flashier mistakes, as even though those mistakes make up a miniscule portion of their total actions, decisions, and overall impact, some will give too much importance to them and it will taint their perception of a player who may very well provide excellent play in the other 99.9% of the time.

We really don't need a Holl retrospective in a Benoit thread. They are as opposite as it gets and it's self evident why one is appreciated and the other isn't, and it has nothing to do with people's lack of understanding.

 

[Leafsfan74]

Benoit is an old school hockey player. Fights hard against players and drops the gloves when he needs to. He and McCabe give the back end some legitimate bite.