Brad Treliving Under Fire for Keeping Struggling Maple Leafs Defenseman at the Trade Deadline
Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving made some solid additions at the trade deadline, but may have made a mistake by not finding a replacement for one of his blue liners.
Though you could consider the Maple Leafs trade deadline a success with acquiring both Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo, it feels like much of the same as Toronto dropped their third game in a row after being routed 7-4 by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night.
They looked out of sorts all night, and their defense looked a step or two behind (though Chris Tanev missing his fifth game in a row didn't help).
One of those big offenders is Simon Benoit, who hasn't been his best all season, and some pretty important stats are lacking; a big concern come playoff time.
What does this mean for Benoit going forward?
Simon Benoit May Cost Toronto In Playoffs Due To Poor Performance
In layman's terms, Benoit is averaging nearly three expected goals for the opponent at even strength, meanwhile his team's expected goals while he's on the ice is the worst on the team. He's not contributing either offensively or defensively, and looks lost at points.
If it wasn't for the play of Toronto's goaltenders this season, Benoit and the team would be in a lot worse position. Why Brad Treliving didn't try to make a depth move at the deadline, or at least keep Dakota Mermis on the team and give him a look.
His defense hasn't been good, and he's not really an offensively gifted player but at least he's been consistent in that regard. He does throw a lot of hits and isn't afraid to block shots, but his poor positioning and IQ at times negates any positives from that.
In 59 games this season, Benoit has four points (0G, 4A) with 86 blocks and 164 hits while averaging 16:27 TOI.
While the deadline has passed and there's not really much that Treliving can do (AHL call-up's have restrictions now as well). Simon Benoit hasn't been good in the regular season, which can only create a nightmare come playoff time if he's still being used.
