Insiders Reveal Leafs' Ultimate Plan For Newly-Acquired Defender Matt Benning

Multiple NHL Insiders say the Maple Leafs already have a plan in place for newly-acquired defenseman Matt Benning.

Acquired in the Timothy Liljegren trade on Wednesday, 30-year-old Matt Benning carries a $1.25M cap hit for this season and next. While it is significantly less than Liljegren's $3M cap hit, and while his acquisition saves the Leafs $1.75M in cap space, Benning still takes up a roster spot on the Leafs' 23-man roster.

With the amount of depth on the blueline that the Leafs have, TSN's Darren Dreger and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman believe that Benning is expendable and that the Leafs will try to flip him for another asset at some point between now and the trade deadline.

Elliotte Friedman confirmed Dreger's initial speculation on his '32 Thoughts' podcast on Friday morning, and you know what they say -- where there's smoke...

In Benning, the Leafs get a very responsible defensive defenseman on the right side that is willing to play a physical and simple game. That's a desirable asset around the league, especially because Benning is a right shot.

Since making his debut with the Edmonton Oilers during the 2016-2017 season, Benning has skated in 464 regular season games collecting 102 points and 239 penalty minutes to go along with 523 blocked shots and 714 hits while averaging 16:37 per game.

Benning's future with the Leafs depends on how fast he can integrate himself into the lineup over the next six days while Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar are on a conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies. For now, Benning has a spot with the Leafs, but once Hakanpaa and Dewar are eligible to return from their conditioning stint, the Leafs will have to move at least two players off the roster, either via trade or waivers, and just because he's the 'new guy', it doesn't mean that Benning is safe.

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