Player Discussion What is Simon Benoit's ceiling?

[Warden of the North]

I think we're all surprised by the impact Benoit has had on our team. He's certainly brought a physical component to our D that we've been missing for several years (Schenn playoff run excluded).

Is his potential greater then bottom pairing? Can he be part of a middle pairing for us long term?

Wherever he slots I am happy he's under team control moving forward.

Click to read more...

 

[TheBeastCoast]

On a contending team he is a physical bottom pairing defensemen which is a valuable piece to have cheap. Need much more you probably have other issues.

 

[GoonieFace]

Old school popcorn

 

[Dekes For Days]

We've had a physical depth defenseman like him pretty much every year, so not exactly something new.
Some people have gotten a bit carried away. He's been a decent bottom pairing defenseman for us.
He's not super old, but not super young either. It's possible he has more to unlock, but given his lack of offensive skills, we're probably talking about a #4 in an absolute best case scenario, and we probably shouldn't go forward expecting that. I'd just enjoy him for what he's able to offer now.

 

[Toronto makebeleifs]

Honestly, he's playing well because he's slotted where he is. Having a ceiling of a #5-6 physical D is perfectly fine and he plays his role well. Maybe in a desperate pinch he could play up, but that shouldn't be long term... otherwise, the leafs are in a bad spot.

 

[IPS]

As it stands right now he's a better and cheaper version of Justin Holl who actually uses his size and plays physical.

Build more on that and I'm happy. Unlike Holl he actually keeps stuff simple.

With some more development he could honestly turn into a support type D Rielly's top pair, much like Schenn was last year.

 

[Buds17]

His ceiling is likely to be what he essentially is as a player right now - a competitive team's defensive conscience on its third pairing/playing third pairing minutes. No regrets as long as he is played and paid accordingly.

 

[ULF_55]

Benoit has actually played less games than Liljegren, and is only 6-8 IIRC months older.

I'll reserve judgement until he's played the 200+ games needed to better understand his ceiling.

Certainly, there are players who jump into the top 4 within a couple years of junior graduation, he and Liljegren are from fully cooked.

He appears to be a decent 3rd. pairing defender at this point, and is hungry enough to engage physically at opportunity.

I'd take him over Holl, who is a fully cooked defender.

For those who don't remember, Holl became a full time NHLer at age 27.

 

[ACC1224]

He's been great but I wouldn't expect anything more than what we're seeing......which is fine.

 

[Commander Clueless]

Probably around this. Steady bottom pair with a simple, physical game that can eat more minutes in a pinch.

He could surprise me again though.


Either way, happy to have him on the team. Hope he sticks around for a good while.

Can we get Schenn back too?

 

[Cap'n Flavour]

Nothing I've seen from him suggests any untapped offensive ability. Pretty much every time he gets the puck in the offensive zone he misses the net or tries to force an unlikely pass, so I guess he could simplify his offensive game and start picking up points by just safely handing the puck back to the nearest Leaf forward and hoping for the best.

Defensively, I have no complaints.

 

[therealkoho]

He's been holding his own, but in saying that the only pressure he's seeing, is his own and his efforts to stay in the line-up.

I subscribe to the 300 GP'd, as the line to tell you what you do have in a Dman. Just by looking, atm I'm thinking he's behind Liljegren and unlikely to reach the ceiling Tim is likely to.

The early returns on him, have told me he'll likely develop into a bottom pair guy who is trustworthy, physical and who may be an asset to the kill

 

[Darcy Tucker]

The francophone version of Danny Markov?

 

[Dreakmur]

He’s probably at his ceiling now. He’s 25, not 21.

 

[Leaf Rocket]

Bottom Pairing Shut down defenseman is what I see.

 

[NinjaKick]

I'm content if he plays just like this

 

[TMLife17]

Probably has a ceiling of being over relied upon because we don't have any other Dmen who play his necessary playoff-style and then turning into the whipping boy for being played out of the role he should be.

Leaves in short order to find success on another teams third pairing where he isn't forced to play higher than needed because he won’t be the only dman with balls on his team.

 

[AvroArrow]

I think this is his ceiling.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

I don’t think he could anchor a top four pairing himself but I see no reason why he can’t be a Schenn type player who could play on a top four pair with a better defenseman and just be responsible defensively. I mean he’s kind of doing that with McCabe right now with decent results.

It’s not impossible for him to become a true top four defenseman on his own though. He’s certainly surprised many already.

 

[al secord]

Like Justin Holl, we'll be calling for his head in the not so distant future. So enjoy him while he's cheap and not played too far up the lineup.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Future 4-time Chuck Norris winner.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

He’s a perfect #6 or an ok #5, I don’t think there’s much more there potential-wise but he brings all the aspects a bottom pairer should bring

If we pay him appropriately, he will be loved by the fans

 

[ULF_55]

Top 4 defender.

Question was "What is Simon Benoit's ceiling?"

I'd say he's already a top 6 defender with 170 games played.
He can get better with more experience.
Rielly looks better this year and this is his 11th. season.

No guarantee he hits his ceiling, but moving from 3rd. pairing to 2nd. pairing isn't asking him to reincarnate as another being.

 

[stickty111]

A #5 who can play PK.

 

[arso40]

Ben chiarot