Value of: Simon Benoit, LD

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Jersey Fan 12

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Was just looking at remaining free agents.

Benoit played 78 games and averaged over 19 minutes of ice time.

Was that just a case of Anaheim not being very good or does he hold value as an NHL defenseman?
 

Leonardo87

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Anaheim had a historically bad season defensively, that is how bad they were. Benoit is maybe a 6D, but more of a 7D on a contender. Ducks had him playing on the 2nd pairing.

The thing is, under Eakins everyone struggled in their own zone, so it’s possible he could be a solid bottom paring in a competent system.

I think he is worth a shot, around a league minimum contract.
 

Rec T

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PTO and a league minimum(ish) contract would be a decent bottom pair gamble for most teams. Last year he was playing way above his head in/with Eakins system (or lack thereof). If Anaheim didn't have so many potentially 'really' good d-men probably making the team in the next year or two, he'd probably still have a spot on the roster.
 

12ozPapa

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He is a bottom pairing dman in my opinion. As others have mentioned, I think without Eakins he would have done even better. And with all the youth on D in ANA, he was the odd man out.
 

Brodeur

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Things were rough in Anaheim last year to say the least. They claimed Scott Harrington off waivers late in the season and he played 18 minutes a night for them down the stretch. Most teams already have 4 or 5 NHL LD, so it may be difficult for Benoit to land a one way deal. Nashville doesn't have an obvious LD callup option. Chicago's D is a bit of a mess but that may be by design.

Ballpark LD depth:

ANA: Fowler-Lacombe-Hagg-Vaakanainen [Mintyukov]
CAL: Hanifin-Zadorov-Kylington-Oesterle
EDM: Nurse-Ekholm-Kulak-Niemelainen-Broberg
LAK: Gavrikov-Anderson-Englund-Bjornfot
SJS: Ferraro-Vlasic-Simek-Knyzhov-Okhotiuk
SEA: Dunn-Oleksiak-Dumoulin-Megna
VAN: Hughes-Soucy[RD]-Cole[RD]-Rathbone-Irwin
VGK: Theodore[RD]-Martinez-McNabb-Hague-Hutton

ARZ: Moser-Valimaki-Dermott-Kolyachonok
CHI: Tinordi-Vlasic-Kaiser-Roos [Korchinski]
COL: Toews-Girard-Byram-Johnson-MacDermid
DAL: Suter-Lindell-Harley-Hanley
MIN: Brodin-Middleton-Goligoski-Merrill
NSH: Josi-McDonagh-Lauzon
STL: Krug-Leddy-Scandella-Perunovich-Rosen
WPG: Morrissey-Schmidt[RD]-Dillon-Samberg-Stanley-Heinola

BOS: Lindholm-Grzelcyk-Forbort-Zboril
BUF: Dahlin[RD]-Power-Samuelsson-Stillman-Bryson
DET: Walman-Chiarot-Gostisbehere-Maatta-Edvinsson
FLO: Forsling-OEL-Mikkola-Kulikov[RD]-Reilly-Mahura
MON: Matheson-Guhle-Harris-Xhekaj
OTT: Chabot-Chychrun[RD]-Sanderson-Brannstrom-Kleven-Larsson
TBL: Hedman-Sergachev-de Haan-Fleury
TOR: Rielly-Brodie[RD]-McCabe-Giordano

CAR: Slavin-Orlov-Skjei-Jones
CLB: Werenski-Provorov-Bean-Bayreuther
NJD: Siegenthaler-Hughes-Bahl-Smith-Hatakka
NYI: Romanov-Pelech-Aho-Bolduc-Salo
NYR: Lindgren-Miller-Gustafsson-Harpur-Jones
PHI: Sanheim-York-Staal-Seeler-Zamula
PIT: Graves-Pettersson-POJ-Smith
WSH: Fehevary-Sandin-Edmundson-Alexeyev
 
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biturbo19

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Things were rough in Anaheim last year to say the least. They claimed Scott Harrington off waivers late in the season and he played 18 minutes a night for them down the stretch. Most teams already have 4 or 5 NHL LD, so it may be difficult for Benoit to land a one way deal. Nashville doesn't have an obvious LD callup option. Chicago's D is a bit of a mess but that may be by design.

Yeah. I think Benoit is a case of...somebody had to play some minutes there. It's often a challenge to assess what a guy even is when they're thrown in so far over their head. He could be a capable #6/7D but it's hard to assess that from getting mostly caved in with bigger/tougher minutes. It's a situation of eventually you can only really sink so far...but that doesn't necessarily tell you much about the minutes a guy could actually float successfully.

I think a PTO and probably a 2-way minimum sort of deal somewhere probably makes sense if he looks alright.


Ballpark LD depth:


VAN: Hughes-Soucy[RD]-Cole[RD]-Rathbone-Irwin

I'd add that Wolanin and Brisebois are also very much in that bottom-pairing/spare LHD mix and may even have an inside track over Rathbone and Irwin for Vancouver. Wolanin in particular actually looked pretty solid when he finally got an opportunity to run in the NHL for a bit.
 

Zegs2sendhelp

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Benoit prob a 6/7 guy… prob not a bad depth pick up for a team

He’s not awful, but he’s not good either
 

Brodeur

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Benoit prob a 6/7 guy… prob not a bad depth pick up for a team

He’s not awful, but he’s not good either

Pretty much every team has 7 NHL D (if not 8) at this point. Caleb Jones took one of the last openings and he's a 7/8 for Carolina. Just to expand on my earlier post, ballpark depth charts:

ANA:
LD: Fowler-Lacombe-Hagg-Vaakanainen [Mintyukov]
RD: Drysdale-Gudas-Helleson?

CAL:
LD: Hanifin-Zadorov-Kylington-Oesterle
RD: Andersson-Weegar-Tanev

EDM:
LD: Nurse-Ekholm-Kulak-Niemelainen-Broberg
RD: Bouchard-Ceci-Desharnais

LAK:
LD: Gavrikov-Anderson-Englund-Bjornfot
RD: Doughty-Roy-Spence-Clarke

SJS:
LD: Ferraro-Vlasic-Simek-Knyzhov-Okhotiuk-Mukhamadullin-Thrun
RD: Rutta-Benning-Burroughs-Gawanke

SEA:
LD: Dunn-Oleksiak-Dumoulin-Megna
RD: Larsson-Schultz-Borgen-Fleury

VAN:
LD: Hughes-Cole-Rathbone-Irwin-Wolanin-Brisebois
RD: Soucy[LH]-Hronek-Myers-Poolman(IR?)

VGK:
LD: Martinez-McNabb-Hague-Hutton
RD: Pietrangelo-Theodore[LH]-Whitecloud-Korczak

ARZ:
LD: Moser-Valimaki-Dermott-Kolyachonok
RD: Dumba-Durzi-Brown-Stecher-Soderstrom

CHI:
LD: Tinordi-Vlasic-Kaiser-Roos [Korchinski]
RD: Jones-Murphy-Zaitsev

COL:
LD: Toews-Girard-Byram-Johnson-MacDermid
RD: Makar-Manson-Malinski

DAL:
LD: Suter-Lindell-Harley-Hanley
RD: Heiskanen[LH]-Hakanpaa-Lundkvist

MIN:
LD: Brodin-Middleton-Goligoski-Merrill
RD: Spurgeon-Faber-Addison

NSH:
LD: Josi-McDonagh-Lauzon
RD: Barrie-Fabbro-Schenn-Carrier

STL:
LD: Krug-Leddy-Scandella-Perunovich-Rosen
RD: Parayko-Faulk-Bortuzzo

WPG:
LD: Morrissey-Dillon-Samberg-Stanley-Heinola
RD: Schmidt[LH]-Pionk-DeMelo

BOS:
LD: Lindholm-Grzelcyk-Forbort-Zboril
RD: McAvoy-Carlo-Shattenkirk-Mitchell

BUF:
LD: Dahlin[RD]-Power-Samuelsson-Stillman-Bryson
RD: Jokiharju-Johnson-Clifton-Lyubushkin

DET:
LD: Walman-Chiarot-Gostisbehere-Maatta-Edvinsson
RD: Seider-Petry-Holl

FLO:
LD: Forsling-OEL-Mikkola-Reilly-Mahura
RD: Ekblad-Montour-Kulikov[LH]

MON:
LD: Matheson-Guhle-Harris-Xhekaj
RD: Savard-Kovacevic-Lindstrom-Wideman-Barron

OTT:
LD: Chabot-Sanderson-Brannstrom-Kleven-Larsson
RD: Chychrun[LH]-Zub-Hamonic-JBD-Thomson

TBL:
LD: Hedman-Sergachev-de Haan-Fleury
RD: Cernak-Perbix-Raddysh-Bogosian-Myers

TOR:
LD: Rielly-McCabe-Giordano
RD: Brodie[LH]-Klingberg-Liljegren-Timmins

CAR:
LD: Slavin-Orlov-Skjei-Jones
RD: Burns-Pesce-DeAngelo-Chatfield-Coghlan

CLB:
LD: Werenski-Provorov-Bean-Bayreuther
RD: Severson-Boqvist-Gudbranson-Peeke-Jiricek

NJD:
LD: Siegenthaler-Hughes-Bahl-Smith-Hatakka
RD: Hamilton-Marino-Miller-Foote-Nemec

NYI:
LD: Romanov-Pelech-Aho-Bolduc-Salo
RD: Dobson-Pulock-Mayfield

NYR:
LD: Lindgren-Miller-Gustafsson-Harpur-Jones
RD: Fox-Trouba-Schneider

PHI:
LD: Sanheim-York-Staal-Seeler-Zamula
RD: Ristolainen-Walker-Attard

PIT:
LD: Graves-Pettersson-POJ-Smith
RD: Karlsson-Letang-Ruhwedel-Friedman

WSH:
LD: Fehevary-Sandin-Edmundson-Alexeyev
RD: Carlson-Jensen-TvR
 
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Hamilton Bulldogs

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I have no idea why hes not back with the Ducks.

Much better than what we will likely be playing and one of the few that actually hits.
 

EXTRAS

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He was essentially a Rookie defensive dman on a bad team. I think he could still become something quite nice if given 15-16 minutes a night on a decent team. Everyone needs time to grow. He's essentially peeke.
 

Brodeur

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Feb 27, 2002
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I have no idea why hes not back with the Ducks.

Much better than what we will likely be playing and one of the few that actually hits.

For better or worse, Anaheim signed Robert Hagg to a league minimum deal to take Benoit's spot. Signing a guy like Benoit likely means somebody's getting sent down and making a relatively large amount in San Diego. Seems like they're keeping a spot open for Jackson LaCombe. And they already had Urho Vaakanainen signed from last offseason. Approximate LD depth chart:

NHL: Fowler-LaCombe [ELC]-Hagg [775K]-Vaakanainen [900K]
AHL: White [775K/250K]-Zellweger [ELC]-Carrick [775K/400K]-Hinds [ELC]

And perhaps Pavel Mintyukov gets a cameo and/or Olen Zellweger earns a cup of coffee this season?
 
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WhatTheDuck

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He's a fairly big kid and willing to play physical. At this point it seems like perhaps the speed of the NHL is a bit too much for his processor - but as others have said, he also has never really been able to have the proper sheltering a young Dman needs when getting their feet wet in the league. The Ducks had so few NHL quality D and his usage was far too heavy.
 
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Jersey Fan 12

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Things were rough in Anaheim last year to say the least. They claimed Scott Harrington off waivers late in the season and he played 18 minutes a night for them down the stretch. Most teams already have 4 or 5 NHL LD, so it may be difficult for Benoit to land a one way deal. Nashville doesn't have an obvious LD callup option. Chicago's D is a bit of a mess but that may be by design.

Ballpark LD depth:

ANA: Fowler-Lacombe-Hagg-Vaakanainen [Mintyukov]
CAL: Hanifin-Zadorov-Kylington-Oesterle
EDM: Nurse-Ekholm-Kulak-Niemelainen-Broberg
LAK: Gavrikov-Anderson-Englund-Bjornfot
SJS: Ferraro-Vlasic-Simek-Knyzhov-Okhotiuk
SEA: Dunn-Oleksiak-Dumoulin-Megna
VAN: Hughes-Soucy[RD]-Cole[RD]-Rathbone-Irwin
VGK: Theodore[RD]-Martinez-McNabb-Hague-Hutton

ARZ: Moser-Valimaki-Dermott-Kolyachonok
CHI: Tinordi-Vlasic-Kaiser-Roos [Korchinski]
COL: Toews-Girard-Byram-Johnson-MacDermid
DAL: Suter-Lindell-Harley-Hanley
MIN: Brodin-Middleton-Goligoski-Merrill
NSH: Josi-McDonagh-Lauzon
STL: Krug-Leddy-Scandella-Perunovich-Rosen
WPG: Morrissey-Schmidt[RD]-Dillon-Samberg-Stanley-Heinola

BOS: Lindholm-Grzelcyk-Forbort-Zboril
BUF: Dahlin[RD]-Power-Samuelsson-Stillman-Bryson
DET: Walman-Chiarot-Gostisbehere-Maatta-Edvinsson
FLO: Forsling-OEL-Mikkola-Kulikov[RD]-Reilly-Mahura
MON: Matheson-Guhle-Harris-Xhekaj
OTT: Chabot-Chychrun[RD]-Sanderson-Brannstrom-Kleven-Larsson
TBL: Hedman-Sergachev-de Haan-Fleury
TOR: Rielly-Brodie[RD]-McCabe-Giordano

CAR: Slavin-Orlov-Skjei-Jones
CLB: Werenski-Provorov-Bean-Bayreuther
NJD: Siegenthaler-Hughes-Bahl-Smith-Hatakka
NYI: Romanov-Pelech-Aho-Bolduc-Salo
NYR: Lindgren-Miller-Gustafsson-Harpur-Jones
PHI: Sanheim-York-Staal-Seeler-Zamula
PIT: Graves-Pettersson-POJ-Smith
WSH: Fehevary-Sandin-Edmundson-Alexeyev
Thanks for laying this out.
 

triggrman

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Pretty much every team has 7 NHL D (if not 8) at this point. Caleb Jones took one of the last openings and he's a 7/8 for Carolina. Just to expand on my earlier post, ballpark depth charts:

ANA:
LD: Fowler-Lacombe-Hagg-Vaakanainen [Mintyukov]
RD: Drysdale-Gudas-Helleson?

CAL:
LD: Hanifin-Zadorov-Kylington-Oesterle
RD: Andersson-Weegar-Tanev

EDM:
LD: Nurse-Ekholm-Kulak-Niemelainen-Broberg
RD: Bouchard-Ceci-Desharnais

LAK:
LD: Gavrikov-Anderson-Englund-Bjornfot
RD: Doughty-Roy-Spence-Clarke

SJS:
LD: Ferraro-Vlasic-Simek-Knyzhov-Okhotiuk-Mukhamadullin-Thrun
RD: Rutta-Benning-Burroughs-Gawanke

SEA:
LD: Dunn-Oleksiak-Dumoulin-Megna
RD: Larsson-Schultz-Borgen-Fleury

VAN:
LD: Hughes-Cole-Rathbone-Irwin-Wolanin-Brisebois
RD: Soucy[LH]-Hronek-Myers-Poolman(IR?)

VGK:
LD: Martinez-McNabb-Hague-Hutton
RD: Pietrangelo-Theodore[LH]-Whitecloud-Korczak

ARZ:
LD: Moser-Valimaki-Dermott-Kolyachonok
RD: Dumba-Durzi-Brown-Stecher-Soderstrom

CHI:
LD: Tinordi-Vlasic-Kaiser-Roos [Korchinski]
RD: Jones-Murphy-Zaitsev

COL:
LD: Toews-Girard-Byram-Johnson-MacDermid
RD: Makar-Manson-Malinski

DAL:
LD: Suter-Lindell-Harley-Hanley
RD: Heiskanen[LH]-Hakanpaa-Lundkvist

MIN:
LD: Brodin-Middleton-Goligoski-Merrill
RD: Spurgeon-Faber-Addison

NSH:
LD: Josi-McDonagh-Lauzon
RD: Barrie-Fabbro-Schenn-Carrier

STL:
LD: Krug-Leddy-Scandella-Perunovich-Rosen
RD: Parayko-Faulk-Bortuzzo

WPG:
LD: Morrissey-Dillon-Samberg-Stanley-Heinola
RD: Schmidt[LH]-Pionk-DeMelo

BOS:
LD: Lindholm-Grzelcyk-Forbort-Zboril
RD: McAvoy-Carlo-Shattenkirk-Mitchell

BUF:
LD: Dahlin[RD]-Power-Samuelsson-Stillman-Bryson
RD: Jokiharju-Johnson-Clifton-Lyubushkin

DET:
LD: Walman-Chiarot-Gostisbehere-Maatta-Edvinsson
RD: Seider-Petry-Holl

FLO:
LD: Forsling-OEL-Mikkola-Reilly-Mahura
RD: Ekblad-Montour-Kulikov[LH]

MON:
LD: Matheson-Guhle-Harris-Xhekaj
RD: Savard-Kovacevic-Lindstrom-Wideman-Barron

OTT:
LD: Chabot-Sanderson-Brannstrom-Kleven-Larsson
RD: Chychrun[LH]-Zub-Hamonic-JBD-Thomson

TBL:
LD: Hedman-Sergachev-de Haan-Fleury
RD: Cernak-Perbix-Raddysh-Bogosian-Myers

TOR:
LD: Rielly-McCabe-Giordano
RD: Brodie[LH]-Klingberg-Liljegren-Timmins

CAR:
LD: Slavin-Orlov-Skjei-Jones
RD: Burns-Pesce-DeAngelo-Chatfield-Coghlan

CLB:
LD: Werenski-Provorov-Bean-Bayreuther
RD: Severson-Boqvist-Gudbranson-Peeke-Jiricek

NJD:
LD: Siegenthaler-Hughes-Bahl-Smith-Hatakka
RD: Hamilton-Marino-Miller-Foote-Nemec

NYI:
LD: Romanov-Pelech-Aho-Bolduc-Salo
RD: Dobson-Pulock-Mayfield

NYR:
LD: Lindgren-Miller-Gustafsson-Harpur-Jones
RD: Fox-Trouba-Schneider

PHI:
LD: Sanheim-York-Staal-Seeler-Zamula
RD: Ristolainen-Walker-Attard

PIT:
LD: Graves-Pettersson-POJ-Smith
RD: Karlsson-Letang-Ruhwedel-Friedman

WSH:
LD: Fehevary-Sandin-Edmundson-Alexeyev
RD: Carlson-Jensen-TvR
Spencer Stastney is Nashville's next call up on LD. Should be on the team ahead of Lauzon now.
 
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Manhattan

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Dec 23, 2013
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8th in hits for defensemen in the league, 2 hits short from Trouba.

Always good to have guys that will punish the opposing team.
 
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Brodeur

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Feb 27, 2002
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San Diego
8th in hits for defensemen in the league, 2 hits short from Trouba.

Always good to have guys that will punish the opposing team.

Today I learned that Robert Hagg led defensemen in hits in 2018-19. Hits can be somewhat deceiving, how much of it is a player physically imposing his will versus them chasing the puck carrier constantly. Jack Johnson was also top 5 for defensemen in hits in 2018-19 and 2019-20. I seem to recall Pens fans not being particularly thrilled with his play.
 
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Manhattan

Registered User
Dec 23, 2013
172
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So you don’t think they all played a lot of box play and sacrificed their body for a living?

Not sure you ever played hockey, doesn’t seem thst way, but players always grinding opponents down are a strenght.

And don’t be stupid now you think it’s all about chasing the puck.

Hockey is a sport where you give up possession at times and you both get to attack and defend.

Are you telling me No body wants Scheman or Hudas on their team in the playoffs?

And lastly, Benoit makes an impact on the ice, No one’s saying he’s a star.

But, then again, players that finish checks are attractive to GMs..


Funny you mention Hägg 2018/19, his best season in the show scoring 5 goals and 20 points…… Pretty Damn sure everyone liked him that season.
 

PettersonHughes

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Aug 26, 2020
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I'd add that Wolanin and Brisebois are also very much in that bottom-pairing/spare LHD mix and may even have an inside track over Rathbone and Irwin for Vancouver. Wolanin in particular actually looked pretty solid when he finally got an opportunity to run in the NHL for a bit.
True, Wolanin and Hirose looked to have the inside edge for the 3rd LD spot IMO, but there's a place for a physical defensive D for those matchups against bigger teams, especially if he can play. I hope Vancouver takes him on for that PTO, and maybe he could be AHL depth or the 7th D.
 

biturbo19

Registered User
Jul 13, 2010
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12,136
True, Wolanin and Hirose looked to have the inside edge for the 3rd LD spot IMO, but there's a place for a physical defensive D for those matchups against bigger teams, especially if he can play. I hope Vancouver takes him on for that PTO, and maybe he could be AHL depth or the 7th D.

I think it's all but a given that Hirose starts in the AHL. He got his games in to burn an ELC year but that's all it was.

He's got plenty of marinating to do in the AHL.


The reality though, is that a LHD situation of: Hughes/Soucy or Cole/Wolanin/Brisebois/Rathbone/Irwin with Hirose in the mix for preseason is just a terrible place for a guy like Benoit to wade into and try to stick on an NHL roster.

It's not that the Canucks defence is stacked...but there is a lot of clutter at the bottom end where Benoit would be vying for a job. It's just tough to stand out in camp/preseason when you've got half a dozen other fringe guys fighting for the same spot.


There's no reason for him to choose to take a PTO with Vancouver, when he'd be much better served looking for a place that has a robust Top-4D, limited organizational depth, and is just looking for a spot to latch on as that extremely cheap #6/7D.
 

Brodeur

Registered User
Feb 27, 2002
26,602
17,115
San Diego
So you don’t think they all played a lot of box play and sacrificed their body for a living?

Not sure you ever played hockey, doesn’t seem thst way, but players always grinding opponents down are a strenght.

~20 years as a meager beer league goalie. But I do appreciate the generic insult. Benoit also played most of his pro career in San Diego, so I have seen him play.

And don’t be stupid now you think it’s all about chasing the puck.

Hockey is a sport where you give up possession at times and you both get to attack and defend.

Are you telling me No body wants Scheman or Hudas on their team in the playoffs?

And lastly, Benoit makes an impact on the ice, No one’s saying he’s a star.

But, then again, players that finish checks are attractive to GMs..

Funny you mention Hägg 2018/19, his best season in the show scoring 5 goals and 20 points…… Pretty Damn sure everyone liked him that season.

I've listed every team's current depth chart as basically the reason why Benoit's currently unsigned. Most teams already have 7/8 NHL D and/or better options in the minors. But I suppose that logic can't argue against hits.

It's not like I'm cheering against a guy like Benoit.
 
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