Matt Benning has been assigned to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies after clearing waivers, the Maple Leafs announced Tuesday. Toronto previously placed Benning on waivers Monday.
Benning was placed on waivers, clearing up a surplus at the position, while providing the team with some much-needed salary cap relief. The 30-year-old will cost $100,000 against the Maple Leafs’ salary cap while playing for the Marlies. Benning holds a $1.25 million cap hit at the NHL level, with an additional season remaining on his contract.
It’s a clever move for both parties as Benning will now get a chance at increased playing time. Benning, along with two draft picks, were acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on October 30, in exchange for Timothy Liljegren. Benning has not played a game for the Maple Leafs since being acquired, with Conor Timmins locking down the No. 6 role for the time being, while Jani Hakanpaa inches closer to his season debut. He appeared in seven games with the Sharks this season prior to the trade, but did not record a point while averaging over 13 minutes per game.
Benning is now a flexible piece for the Maple Leafs to use, and the team can rely upon an NHL veteran when called upon if their defensive depth takes a hit at any point this season. Toronto currently holds two shutdown pairings in the Morgan Rielly-Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jake McCabe-Chris Tanev groups, while Timmins is off to a strong start to the year, after outplaying Liljegren and Philippe Myers for the team’s No. 6 spot. Myers has only played in one game as well, and could be the odd man when out when Hakanpaa makes his Maple Leafs debut.
It’s possible that Benning could be moved again, as the Maple Leafs continue to optimize their roster against the permutations of the salary cap. For now, Benning has a real landing spot and can log quality minutes in the AHL, while holding value on the market as a third-pair NHL defenceman.
