Benoit (personal) rejoined the Maple Leafs for practice Monday, Mark Masters of TSN reports.
Benoit missed Saturday's game against the Penguins while tending to a personal matter, but he should be available for Tuesday's matchup against the Panthers. Across his 23 appearances this season, Benoit has logged two assists, 55 hits, 34 blocked shots and 17 PIM while averaging 18:02 of ice time.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Unavailable Saturday
Rotowire
Benoit (personal) won't be in the lineup Saturday versus Pittsburgh, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.
Benoit has two assists, 17 PIM, 55 hits and 34 blocks in 23 appearances this year. Philippe Myers is set to draw into the lineup for the first time since Nov. 15 due to Benoit's absence.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Practicing Friday
Rotowire
Benoit (illness) practiced Friday, according to Mark Masters of TSN.
Benoit was forced to miss Wednesday's tilt against Utah. The 27-year-old defenseman has two assists, 33 hits and 21 blocked shots across 13 appearances this season. Benoit has surpassed the 200-hit mark in each of his last three seasons and is on track to do so again in 2025-26. He should return to the lineup versus Boston on Saturday, with Dakota Mermis likely to be the odd-man out.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Not playing Wednesday
Rotowire
Benoit (illness) won't play Wednesday versus the Mammoth.
Benoit is under the weather and will be forced to miss at least one game. The 27-year-old defenseman will be replaced by Dakota Mermis in Wednesday's lineup. It's not yet clear if Benoit will be available for Saturday's home game against the Bruins.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Records assist in win
Rotowire
Benoit notched an assist and a plus-2 rating in Tuesday's 7-4 win over the Predators.
Benoit picked up his first point of the season on an Oliver Ekman-Larsson tally in the first period. The 27-year-old Benoit has brought plenty of grit to a third-pairing role, adding 10 hits, four blocked shots and a plus-2 rating over four appearances. His lack of offense is too much to overcome for most fantasy managers -- the defenseman has never had more than 10 points in a season, but he has topped the 200-hit mark in three straight campaigns.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Set to return Thursday
Rotowire
Benoit (upper body) is on the roster for Thursday's preseason game against the Red Wings, signaling that he'll be able to return.
Benoit sustained an upper-body injury early in training camp, but he shed his non-contact jersey Wednesday and will return to game action a day later. Assuming he remains healthy ahead of Wednesday's Opening Night matchup against Montreal, Benoit will likely begin the year on the third pairing.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Making progress
Rotowire
Benoit (upper body) is participating in Wednesday's practice and is no longer wearing a non-contact jersey, per David Alter of The Hockey News.
Benoit had previously skated with the team while being ineligible for contact, so this is a key step in the right direction. That said, it remains unclear if Benoit will play in either of Toronto's final preseason games against Detroit on Thursday or Saturday. Benoit will likely have a third-pairing role if he's available for Toronto's regular-season opener against Montreal on Oct. 8.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Not playing in Montreal
Rotowire
Benoit (upper body) will not travel to Montreal on Thursday, Mark Masters of TSN reports.
Benoit will miss the road contest against the Canadiens. He was injured early in training camp, and while the injury isn't considered serious, Benoit may not be available for Opening Night on Oct. 8. Benoit had one goal, nine assists, 59 PIM, 204 hits and 111 blocked shots across 78 regular-season contests in 2024-25.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Injury isn't serious
Rotowire
Benoit (upper body) hasn't resumed participating in training camp, but head coach Craig Berube doesn't believe Benoit's injury is serious, Luke Fox of Sportsnet reports Wednesday.
Although it's been five days since Benoit was on the ice with the Leafs, it makes sense to err heavily on the side of caution for even a minor injury during training camp. The 27-year-old had a goal, 10 points, 59 PIM, 204 hits and 111 blocks across 78 regular-season appearances with the Maple Leafs in 2024-25.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Not playing Tuesday
Rotowire
Benoit (upper body) will not suit up for Tuesday's home preseason game versus the Senators.
Benoit has been dealing with an upper-body injury through the early portion of training camp, and it remains to be seen when he'll be good to go. Toronto's next exhibition contest is Thursday in Montreal.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Unavailable for practice
Rotowire
Benoit (upper body) won't take part in Saturday's practice.
Benoit had been skating alongside Oliver Ekman-Larsson at the beginning of training camp. They were also a pairing for the Maple Leafs during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Benoit had one goal, nine assists, 111 blocked shots and 204 hits in 78 regular-season games during the 2024-25 campaign.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Grabs winner early in OT in Game 2
Rotowire
Benoit scored the game-winning goal Thursday in a 3-2 overtime victory over the Senators.
Auston Matthews won a face-off in the left circle back to Benoit, who one-timed the bouncing puck past Linus Ullmark through traffic. It was his first NHL playoff goal; he has two points in three postseason games. Benoit is a hard-nosed sixth defender who has surprised with his offense this postseason.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Logs assist Sunday
Rotowire
Benoit notched an assist and two hits in Sunday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.
Benoit has two helpers over his last 12 outings, adding 25 hits, 13 blocked shots and a plus-8 rating in that span. The Maple Leafs are stretched thin on defense, so Benoit should continue to see top-four minutes to close out the regular season. He's matched his career high of 10 points while contributing 46 shots on net, 59 PIM, a plus-10 rating, 201 hits and 106 blocked shots over 76 appearances this season.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Garners shorthanded assist
Rotowire
Benoit logged a shorthanded assist and four hits in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Avalanche.
Benoit's offense has improved dramatically this month. He has a goal and three helpers over his last five contests, which followed a stretch of 24 games without a point. Benoit is up to eight points, 38 shots on net, 187 hits, 93 blocked shots, 52 PIM and a plus-2 rating over 64 appearances. His helper Wednesday was the first shorthanded point of his career.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Dry spell on offense continues
Rotowire
Benoit was held off the scoresheet for the 21st game in a row in Sunday's 6-5 overtime win over the Penguins.
If ever there was a time to end a drought, a game like Sunday's would have been a good one, but Benoit was not involved in the scoring fun. The 26-year-old defenseman remains a steady presence in the Maple Leafs' lineup for his physicality. Over 56 appearances, he has just four assists, but he's compiled 152 hits, 83 blocked shots and 37 PIM while playing in a bottom-four role.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Chips in with helper
Rotowire
Benoit logged an assist and five hits in Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Capitals.
Benoit ended his 13-game point slump with the helper. The 26-year-old defenseman has contributed four assists, 23 shots on net, 28 PIM, 54 blocked shots and 95 hits through 35 contests this season. Benoit likely won't ever be a significant scorer, but he can add ample physicality from the Maple Leafs' third pairing.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Finds helper in win
Rotowire
Benoit recorded an assist, three hits, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Canadiens.
The helper was Benoit's second of the season over 16 games. The 26-year-old defenseman typically makes more of an impact with physicality than scoring, and that's been true in 2024-25 -- he has 31 hits, 28 blocked shots and 12 PIM. He's holding down a third-pairing role for now, though he could face pressure for playing time from Matt Benning or Philippe Myers in the short term, and he could be out of the mix entirely once Jani Hakanpaa (knee) is cleared to play.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Physical force against Caps
Rotowire
Benoit recorded nine hits with a blocked shot, a shot on net and a plus-1 rating in Wednesday's 7-3 win over the Capitals.
The game got chippy in the third period as the Maple Leafs pulled away, and Benoit earned his keep with a dominant physical performance. The 25-year-old blueliner hasn't produced a point in his last nine games, but he's piled up 37 hits, 15 blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over that stretch, including three separate games with six-plus hits. Beniot's 184 hits on the season have come in only 51 games, and as long as he stays out of the press box, he should reach 200 for the second straight campaign.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: At practice Monday
Rotowire
Benoit was practicing with Toronto on Monday, David Alter of Sports Illustrated reports.
Benoit was slotted into the third pairing for Toronto and could get into the lineup against Florida on Tuesday. If Benoit does suit up, it will likely mean William Lagesson will be relegated to a reserve role. For his part, Benoit is averaging 13:13 of ice time in his six NHL games this season, registering five shots, 13 hits and 10 blocks along the way.
... See More... See Less
Maple Leafs' Simon Benoit: Rises to top level
Rotowire
Benoit has been recalled by the Maple Leafs, per the NHL media site.
Benoit was sent to the minors in a paper transaction Monday, but he's now back with the big club and will likely slot into a bottom-pairing role against Chicago on Friday. He's gone scoreless through five top-level appearances this year.
