Maple Leafs Defenseman Officially Cracks Opening Night Roster for the First Time in his Career
Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit is thrilled to play in his first ever season opener in front of family and friends in Montreal, but admits to shouldering a significant financial burden because of it.
Benoit had often been viewed as nothing more than a 7th defenseman early on in his career, but after a bit of a coming out party in Toronto in 2023-24, was not only able to establish himself as a valuable contributor at the NHL level, but also earned himself an extension with the Leafs as a result of his excellent defensive play. Now, the brand new father finds himself in a position where he will take part in the first ever season opener of his career.
Leafs head coach Craig Berube has confirmed that Benoit, who showed up for training camp in tremendous shape, will be in the opening night lineup, and as excited as he is for the game in his home province of Quebec tonight, Benoit also jokingly made light of the significant financial losses he'll suffer as a result of the tickets he had purchased for all of his family and friends who will be in attendance for the significant event.
Benoit is expected to start on the 3rd pair in Toronto this season, partnered with right-handed offensive defenseman Conor Timmins. Benoit, a pure defensive defenseman should provide the insulation necessary to allow Timmins to take some additional offensive risks.
The pair looked solid together during the pre-season, so much so that Berube bumped Timothy Liljegren down to the 4th pair, below Timmins on the depth chart. With Timmins making just $1.1M versus Liljegren's $3M, it has many wondering whether the Leafs are entertaining the idea of moving Liljegren to free up some cap space sometime between now and when the Leafs activate Calle Jarnkrok, Jani Hakanpaa and others from IR/LTIR.
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