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Simon Benoit played the best hockey of his career following March road trip
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Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Arun Srinivasan
Jun 4, 2025, 06:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 3, 2025, 14:57 EDT
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It was a tale of two seasons from Simon Benoit and you can find the inflection point rather easily. Benoit struggled for large stretches of the regular season and fought for his spot in the lineup, with Philippe Myers pushing for playing time. Looking at his analytical profile, you may find it difficult to deduce that Benoit became a vital contributor for the Toronto Maple Leafs during the playoffs, and that’s exactly what happened during this year’s postseason run.

How the year went

We don’t want to belabour the point but Benoit struggled throughout the year, although his physicality and ability to clear the net-front were key qualities that head coach Craig Berube valued. Benoit was primarily partnered with Conor Timmins, who was traded at the deadline, and found chemistry with Oliver Ekman-Larsson from March onward. While the Benoit-Ekman-Larsson pairing didn’t post stellar underlying numbers, they sported a plus-two goal differential in just under 200 minutes together at 5-on-5, forming a third pair option on the back for the Maple Leafs that Berube grew comfortable with, and it eventually paid dividends.
Benoit and the Maple Leafs went to California for a three-game road trip, spanning from March 27-30, and this marks when the 26-year-old raised his game for the duration of the year. He was excellent in the Maple Leafs’ 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, making sound reads and easy exits, and it’s clear that his confidence carried over entering the spring. Benoit was also terrific in a March 11 victory over the Utah Hockey Club, where he notched his lone goal of the regular season.
Benoit emerged as a folk hero during the postseason. His physicality and relentlessness are qualities that are always admired by the Leafs’ fan base and he wouldn’t back down against the Ottawa Senators. Benoit was never expected to provide any meaningful offence, but he made one of the best plays of the Maple Leafs’ postseason, during a Game 2 overtime victory over the Senators.
Waiting patiently in the gaps, Benoit picked off an errant cross-ice pass from Senators forward Drake Batherson and raced up the ice. Rather than dumping the puck in, Benoit surveyed the ice, kept skating and dropped the puck back to Max Domi. Domi weaved around Batherson and wired the puck off the post and in to provide the Maple Leafs with a 3-2 victory and a 2-0 series lead.
Benoit’s greatest moment of the series occurred in Game 3. After submitting a strong performance throughout the game, where Benoit made several key shot blocks in the third period, he registered the most important goal of his career to provide the Maple Leafs with a 3-2 overtime victory and a commanding 3-0 series lead.
With the Senators’ home crowd reaching fever pitch in hopes of turning the series around, Auston Matthews won a key offensive zone faceoff and Benoit corralled the puck off the boards. Benoit wired it towards the net, beating Linus Ullmark through a screen, continuing to etch his place in Maple Leafs’ lore.
“It’s always great when a guy like that scores a goal, a big goal like that,” Berube said of Benoit. “Benny’s played extremely well for us defensively and been hard to play against, so it’s nice when guys like that are rewarded with a big goal. Very happy for him.
“He definitely continues to get better,” Auston Matthews said at the podium, with Benoit by his side. “He first joined us last year. Obviously, he’s a physical presence defensively, he’s long, he’s got that long stick, he’s a big body. At this time of year, little plays, details and all that stuff really matter. In the last few overtimes, he’s made big plays for our team, he’s came up big on the offensive side of the puck, on the defensive side, so that’s been good to see, you need guys to step up this time of year.”
Benoit told reporters that he found his footing around Christmas, and wherever you believe the inflection point started, it was truly a tale of two seasons. Throughout the second-round series against the Panthers, Benoit continued to play with a physical edge but couldn’t find the scoresheet.
Toronto will welcome Benoit back for the 2025-26 season, where it’s incumbent upon him to build on his stellar latter half of the year and cut out the risky pinches that led to his biggest mistakes.

Statistical profile

Category
Production
NHL rank
Expected goals percentage
40.43%
638th
Goal differential, 5-on-5
+10
125th
Corsi, 5-on-5
42.57%
640th
Expected goals for per 60
1.99
604th
Expected goals against per 60
2.94
T-608th
Individual expected goals
1.51
617th
Shooting percentage
2.33%
611th
All stats at 5-on-5 via Natural Stat Trick
It’s a pretty simple profile for Benoit, which we alluded to throughout the piece. He was one of the worst active defencemen in the NHL before finding his game in March. Benoit’s physicality and ability to clear opponents from the net aren’t fully accounted for, nor was his outstanding shot-blocking prowess. Prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Final, Benoit still ranks third among players in blocked shots this postseason. He threw his body on the line, every game, and now it’s about adding an element of risk aversion into his game.
Benoit isn’t expected to be a reliable source of offence, so you can minimize his offensive impact as such. Entering the 2025-26 season, Benoit can build further continuity with Ekman-Larsson on a blue line that should be returning all of their incumbents, while the Maple Leafs are promising to revamp their forward corps during the offseason.

Select highlights

Benoit’s overtime winner, Game 3, Ottawa Senators, April 24, 2025
Benoit’s primary assist on Max Domi’s OT goal, Game 2, Ottawa Senators, April 22, 2025

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