One of the reasons why the Toronto Maple Leafs struggled so much out of the gate was defensive depth, with Jake Muzzin and Timothy Liljegren injured at the same time. Another missing player during that stretch was Jordie Benn, who is now back after being activated off injured reserve.
The Maple Leafs have sent Pontus Holmberg and Victor Mete back to the minor leagues to make room for the incoming veteran defenseman. The team also released Danny DeKeyser from his AHL professional tryout contract.
Benn, 35, signed a one-year, $750K contract with the Maple Leafs this summer as a potential seventh or eighth defenseman but suffered an injury in training camp that has kept him out the first month of the season. The veteran of 595 regular season games will give the team a different look on the back end, should they decide to insert him into the lineup.
More physical than any of the team’s other defenders, he could add some bite to the third pairing should they suffer another injury. With Liljegren back the group has seemed to stabilize for the time being but a lot of pressure will be put on the defense as they deal with injuries to both Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov.
that’s a change a physical defenseman. How exciting!