San Jose Sharks Defenseman Done for Season

The San Jose Sharks have announced that defenseman Matt Benning will be out for the rest of the season due after undergoing successful hip surgery.

Benning has not played since Dec 3 against the New York Rangers, and now we, unfortunately, have confirmation that his season is over. While the Sharks are rebuilding and have low expectations for the rest of the season, it is still not ideal that Benning will not play for the remainder of the season. This is because he is one of their most important defenseman and a good mentor for the younger players due to his overall experience.

In 14 games this season with the Sharks, Benning had two assists to go along with a minus-5 rating. During the season before, he set new career highs with 23 assists and 24 points. The expectation was that he would build off of his career-best season, but this news put an end to that hope.

The Sharks will now need to make adjustments to the right side of their defensive group with Benning out.

In 457 career NHL games split between the Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators, and Sharks, he has 17 goals to go along with 102 points.