Why the Maple Leafs Sent Down Simon Benoit and Bobby McMann to the Marlies
The Maple Leafs could be getting a defenseman back soon but didn't need to do anything until Thursday evening before their next game.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are back from their week-long sojourn in Stockholm, Sweden, but on Monday, the club made a pair of transactions. They sent down defenseman Simon Benoit and forward Bobby McMann to the Toronto Marlies.
That got Maple Leafs fans feeling that the club is preparing for Conor Timmins' return. The defenseman suffered a lower-body injury in training camp and has been on long-term injured reserve. The club needed to move money from their active roster to accommodate Timmins' $1.1 million salary cap, so the moves make sense from that perspective.
However, the Maple Leafs don't need to activate Timmins from LTIR until Thursday, before the club's next game on Friday afternoon on the road against the Chicago Blackhawks.
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Furthermore, the Maple Leafs could get some more clarity on defenseman John Klingberg soon. The 31-year-old Swede has been dealing with a nagging injury that he says has been bothering him throughout his career. If the Leafs were to move the D-man to the LTIR, it would be an easy swap-out situation.
What is likely scenario here is that the Marlies have a game on Tuesday at home in Toronto against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Coca-Cola Coliseum and sending down both of them helps get those players moving to shake off the jetlag from their trip to Sweden.
The Maple Leafs would probably prefer to send down more Marlies-eligible players if they could but are required to carry a minimum of 20 active NHL players, which they have right now.
UPDATE: Although both players were sent to the Marlies, neither were in the lineup according to THN's Nick Barden.
Benoit has played well for the Leafs since he was called up to the club on Nov. 5. Although he has no points in five games, the puck has been mostly kept on the other side of the ice when he's on the ice, with an expected-goals percentage of 72 percent in over 60 minutes of even-strength hockey, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
McMann has two assists in three games with the Maple Leafs. Outside of being an improvement on the fourth-line to Ryan Reaves, the 27-year-old, his expected goals percentage is sitting at 36 percent 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com
The Maple Leafs will return to practice on Wednesday and there will be further clarity on the club's roster when it comes to Klingberg and Timmins.
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