Maple Leafs ink Benoit to 3-year extension

The Toronto Maple Leafs signed defenseman Simon Benoit to a three-year contract extension at $1.35 million per season, the club announced Friday.

Benoit was a pending restricted free agent. He's playing on a one-year, $775,000 deal that he signed in August.

The 25-year-old has one goal and four assists while averaging 16:55 of ice time over 54 games in 2023-24.

Benoit isn't known for his offense, but he has favorable underlying numbers. The Leafs have controlled 51.76% of both the expected goals and the scoring chances at five-on-five with Benoit on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick.

He's recently taken the injured Morgan Rielly's spot on the Leafs' top defensive pairing alongside Jake McCabe. Benoit and McCabe also play on the team's second penalty-killing unit.

Benoit is in his first season with Toronto after playing parts of three campaigns with the Anaheim Ducks. The San Diego Gulls, the Ducks' AHL affiliate, signed Benoit as an undrafted free agent in September 2018. Anaheim didn't extend him a qualifying offer last summer, and he signed with the Leafs as a UFA.