Leafs assign forward to Marlies, recall a defenseman ahead of season opener

McMann was injured through much of training camp, so it wasn't until late in the pre-season when he began skating with the team. Last season, McMann made it into 10 games for the Leafs and many had him on their short list of players within the organization who could challenge for a spot out of camp. Unfortunately for McMann, his health just didn't cooperate, resulting in his season beginning in the minors as opposed to on the NHL roster.

In subsequent news, not only was McMann sent down, but the Leafs have also called up depth defenseman Simon Benoit from the Marlies today, as the organization seemingly feels better about having an extra defenseman up with the team, presumably to allow them to load manage 40-year-old Mark Giordano this season.

Benoit, like McMann, was injured throughout most of camp, not being healthy enough to make it into any games until the end of the pre-season. Benoit's game is very physical and defense-focused, so we shouldn't count on too much offensive production from him.

The injury to the Leafs' 7th defenseman, Conor Timmins, is what has opened the door for Benoit to be able to be up with the big club. Timmins, who had 6 points in 3 pre-season games with the Leafs, appeared to be surging towards perhaps stealing a roster spot from another defenseman in the Leafs' top 6, but an unfortunate lower-body injury has the 25-year-old on the sidelines for at least 4 more weeks.

Naturally, Benoit is not expected to be in the opening night lineup against the Canadiens tonight, but with the Leafs playing 4 games between this Saturday and next, it's likely that we'll see him in at least 1 of those games.