Maple Leafs Sign Simon Benoit to Contract Extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs are keeping one of their defensemen around. The Original Six club has announced that they have signed Simon Benoit to a three-year, $4.05 million contract extension.

🖊 We’ve signed defenceman Simon Benoit to a three-year contract extension
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 29, 2024

Benoit, 25, quietly signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Maple Leafs last season. The expectation was that he would be an extra defenseman for Toronto, but he has since emerged as a key player on their blue line because of his high level of tenacity and steady defensive play. Now, he has earned this sweet contract extension because of it.

Benoit has appeared in 54 games this season with the Maple Leafs, where he has one goal, five points, 82 blocks, 205 hits, and a plus-5 rating. He has provided the Maple Leafs' blue line with the kind of sandpaper that they needed for quite some time, and it's smart that they have decided to keep him around beyond this season because of it.

This deal is a win-win for both the player and the team. Benoit has landed some job security with it being a multi-year pact, while the Maple Leafs are keeping him around at an affordable $1.35 million cap hit.

In 191 career NHL games split between the Anaheim Ducks and Maple Leafs, Benoit has five goals, 20 points, and 609 hits.