Veteran Maple Leafs Defender Named Waiver Candidate

The Toronto Maple Leafs may be forced to place a veteran defenseman on waivers to become roster compliant.

Oct 18, 2024; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Benning (5) looks to make a pass against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-Imagn Images / Terrence Lee-Imagn Images

The Toronto Maple Leafs are facing a bit of a conundrum. The beginning of the season has been filled with injuries and shuffling of the lines. Currently, their captain Auston Matthews is recovering from an upper-body injury while two veteran players, Connor Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa, are nearly recovered from their offseason injuries.

With the Maple Leafs finally getting healthy, the team must find a way to become compliant with a 23-man roster in the coming days. The issue is that they have more than 23 players deserving of being on the NHL roster, including one-way contracts for veteran players. They'll have to make a difficult choice, and NHL insider Frank Seravalli made a bold predicition for what the Leafs will do.

On a recent episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Seravalli pondered the Leafs' situation. To him, the best and most likely move is for the team to waive recently acquired veteran defenseman Matt Benning.

"The first and easiest way to do that would probably be to put Matt Benning on waivers," Seravalli said. "I think they’ve tried to find a taker for him, but the extra year on his deal has prevented that."

This wouldn't be a complete shock, but it would be a quick development in Benning's tenure with Toronto. The team acquired him recently in a trade that sent Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks. As soon as the deal was completed, there was speculation that the Leafs would try to move Benning once again, but that possibility could be passing.

If the Leafs place him on waivers, it will allow the rest of the league the opportunity to snag Benning. They would be on the hook for his remaining contract, which includes another season with a cap hit of $1.25 million.

Benning is a veteran of 464 NHL games. Spending time with the Edmonton Oilers, Nashville Predators and the Sharks, he's collected 17 goals, 85 assists and 102 total points.

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