Newcomer Jordie Benn found himself in a surprising spot at practice on Monday
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Michael BanksSeptember 26, 2022 (8:44 PM)
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With preseason underway, teams are finally getting a sense for what their lineups will look like once the season starts. There is still plenty of time before the Leafs play their first game of the regular season on October 12th, so until then, all of the lines and pairings are in the blender and there will be lots of competition for various spots across the lineup. One player that is getting an opportunity to prove themselves is veteran defenseman Jordie Benn. Last week, Keefe has said that Benn would get a shot at playing the right side and Monday morning, he got the chance to do so next to longtime Leaf Morgan Rielly.
The expectations for Benn at this point shouldn't be very high. The 35-year-old defender hasn't played a full season since 2019-2020, and has averaged no more than 16:17 of TOI in the past three years. The best role for the Victoria, BC native would be as a depth defenseman, but this is a great opportunity to develop some chemistry with Rielly, who will likely lead all Leafs defensemen in ice time this season.
It will be interesting to see what the final defense pairings will be. With Liljegren being injured, Muzzin having some issues with his back and Sandin still unsigned, there is a lot of opportunity for new defensemen to prove to the organization for why they should be in the lineup come October 12th.
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