John Tavares is having his worst season because Simon Benoit is draining 50 percent of the team's scoring
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
The Maple Leafs are 50% less likely to score when Simon Benoit and John Tavares are on the ice together because Benoit is one of the worst defenders in the league at leaving the zone. That is not a depth problem but a structural failure costing Toronto goals every night.
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit's struggles might be impacting John Tavares as the 35-year-old navigates a downturn in his play this season.
Tavares has had by his standards a middling year with 26 goals and 61 points this season, with just eight goals and 14 points on the power play; a far cry from his 38-goal, 74-point effort last year.
Notably within the bigger picture, the Leafs are 50% less likely to score with both Tavares and Benoit on the ice, with Benoit factoring heavily in Toronto's lack of scoring.
According to Michael Clifford of Dobber Prospects, Benoit is unable to really get out of his own way, and the fact that Tavares is often stapled to him — it's unsightly:
At 1.33 primary points per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, John Tavares has his lowest primary points rate of his Toronto Maple Leafs tenure.
Coincidentally, defenceman Simon Benoit has the seventh-highest Botch+Fail% of the 182 defencemen in our sample. Put it together, and the Leafs are scoring 50% less when Tavares is on the ice with Benoit than without him.
Coincidentally, defenceman Simon Benoit has the seventh-highest Botch+Fail% of the 182 defencemen in our sample. Put it together, and the Leafs are scoring 50% less when Tavares is on the ice with Benoit than without him.
Benoit, 27, has just five points, all assists, in 65 games this season for the Leafs. With a career high of 10 points, Benoit has never been a bastion of offensive impact, but has been costing the Leafs some serious scoring chances.
Benoit has the seventh highest botch and fail rate out of 182 defensemen and Tavares is paying the price every shift
Botches refer to botched retrievals in the defensive zone, while fails are a reference to failed exits. Both are key for a defenseman in terms of generating offense off of breakouts.
This means that in terms of impact of getting the puck out of your own end and creating transition scoring chances, Benoit is one of the least effective at doing so.
This means that the defense when Benoit is on the ice is failing to generate meaningful passes forward into opposing ice, unable to create plays for the forwards.
This inability has seemingly hurt Tavares the most, who isn't getting those chances handed to him, and can lead to turnovers and even goals the other way.
The Maple Leafs keep dressing Benoit every night because they have no one better and that's the real problem
The issue for the Toronto Maple Leafs is that they don't really have anyone better than Simon Benoit as things stand right now, which is its own problem.
As alternatives, Philippe Myers and Marshall Rifai have proven just as replacement level as Benoit, while Henry Thrun has been largely ineffective and is inexperienced and rookie Noah Chadwick is bits away.
Benoit isn't just a negative impact for the blueline, he's also making things difficult for the offense, and it's part of why the Leafs aren't getting their usual scoring chances.
The Toronto Maple Leafs don't have an immediate upgrade for Simon Benoit, and it may be a necessary task for Toronto in free agency.
Benoit has another year remaining on his contract until next season, with a cap hit of $1.35M. Unless he's played as a seventh defenseman, Benoit will need to be upgraded upon after this season.
Benoit is showing that he can't be entrusted as an everyday defenseman, and him doing so is not possible for a team serious about being a cup contender.
Unfortunately, he's not the problem — he's the symptom. The problem is that Brad Treliving never found anyone better. That has to change this summer.
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