New Leafs Defenseman Matt Benning Responds to Rumours That He May Be Flipped

On Wednesday evening, the Maple Leafs finally completed the trade that everyone had been anticipating, moving Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks. In the deal, the Leafs were able to acquire a pair of draft picks, along with 30-year-old defenseman Matt Benning, who appears earmarked to play a similar role to that of Liljegren, as the Leafs' 7th or 8th defenseman.

Over the last 48 hours, a pair of trusted NHL Insiders have mentioned the very real possibility that the Leafs may look to flip Benning to another team to pick up another asset. Both TSN's Darren Dreger and Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman mentioned that Bennings stay in Toronto could be shortlived, despite the veteran blueliner having one season beyond this one remaining on his contract.

Following his first practice in Toronto on Friday, Benning addressed the possibility that he could be moved again. Although it was his first time in his career that he has been traded, Benning seemed to take the whole thing in stride and with a positive attitude.

He also realizes what sort of things are within his realm of control and the things that he cannot control. Benning plans to play hard for Craig Berube to make the Leafs' decision a more difficult one.

With the Leafs having limited draft capital over the next couple of seasons, it's a reasonable expectation that if they do deal Benning before the deadline, a draft pick will probably be the targeted asset in the exchange. Another possibility would be to include Benning as a part of a package to acquire an impact player.

There's a lot of time to navigate between now and the trade deadline, and there's no telling how soon or how late in the season the Leafs will look to flip Benning if that is, indeed, the plan. We'll continue to provide updates on the situation as they become available.