Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs may have no choice but to put defenceman Matt Benning on waivers in the coming days as part of their attempts to get out of the roster clog.
During Friday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Seravalli was asked by co-host Tyler Yaremchuk how Auston Matthews’ recent injury impacts their roster for the next little bit. He noted that Toronto’s captain is not expected to play at all this weekend, which should give Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving some time to figure out who they need to move off their roster when they have to make a decision.
“They’re at 23 men right now, and therein lies the problem. Cap wise, the Leafs are totally fine. Roster wise, they’ve got to unload two players in order to bring [Jani Hakanpaa and Connor Dewar] back onto the roster,” Seravalli said. “The first and easiest way to do that would probably be to put Matt Benning on waivers. I think they’ve tried to find a taker for him, but the extra year on his deal has prevented that.”
Benning was acquired in the Timothy Liljegren trade on October 30 with the San Jose Sharks. He has practiced with the team since the transaction but has yet to make an appearance for the Leafs and there are no indications at the time of filing that will change anytime soon.
The Leafs have reportedly been trying to find a taker for Benning since the Liljegren trade given his high cap hit and lack of playing time, but being on the books for this season and next has clearly made it difficult to pull off. Seravalli believes the likely outcome is Benning gets placed on waivers in the near future where he will likely pass though despite having a reasonable cap hit of $1.25 million.
“Could they trade Nick Robertson? Yes, it remains a possibility. Teams have had interest, but the Leafs would prefer to not do that,” Seravalli said regarding who the Leafs may move to free up space.
“I’ll tell you one other thing that they wouldn’t like to do. You might look at their lineup and say, ‘Hey, well Philippe Myers, he’s only played one game this season. You could just put him on waivers.’ The Leafs really don’t want to do that. They think with his size that they’re on the cusp of figuring something out to be a quiet, stay at home defenceman and a cheap option for them in their bottom pair. They’re not ready to give up on him.”
Seravalli added that the Leafs may have no choice but to place Myers on waivers, but they would prefer not to because they don’t think he will clear. The team appears to view him in high regard, so much so that he not only was able to remain on the roster past training camp but also beat out Liljegren for a spot. If Toronto is truly committed to keeping Myers, they will have to get creative in finding away to free themselves from the roster clog that doesn’t involve the 27-year-old.
In any case, the Leafs are going to do everything in their power to delay this decision as much as possible. Hakanpaa and Dewar are currently in the midst of their LTIR conditioning stint and they are eligible to play up to three games with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies before being called back up. There is the option to extend it if a team feels it is necessary, which is likely what Treliving will try and do to buy more time.
This will also allow Matthews some more time to rest and ensure the ailment doesn’t linger. Matthews is unlikely to play Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.
You listen to the full segment as well as the entire episode down below:
