Even after finding a home for Timothy Liljegren with the San Jose Sharks, the Toronto Maple Leafs still have work to do in easing a roster crunch on the back end.
On Friday, the Maple Leafs assigned defenceman Jani Hakanpää and forward Connor Dewar to the AHL's Toronto Marlies on an LTIR conditioning loan as the pair looks to work back into the NHL club's lineup.
With those potential additions on the horizon and the acquisition of veteran defenceman Matt Benning in the Liljegren deal, Toronto has made the former Shark available via trade, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
"Everyone knows, [the Maple Leafs] made one move this week, they have roster crunches they're going to have to deal with when everybody gets healthy," Friedman said on Hockey Night in Canada's Saturday Headlines segment. "They have let it be known they want to do right by Benning.
"He's a guy who is an NHL player. He's more than capable of playing on a roster, and he just flew all the way across the country to meet the team and went with them to St. Louis."
A nine-year NHL veteran, Benning skated in seven games this season with San Jose prior to the trade, averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time per game.
The 30-year-old Edmonton native was originally selected by the Boston Bruins in the sixth round of the 2012 draft. He didn't make his NHL debut until the 2016-17 season, after signing with his hometown Oilers as a 22-year-old.
Since breaking into the league, Benning has played 464 career games, spending time with the Oilers, Sharks and Nashville Predators. In his career, he has scored 17 goals and totalled 102 points while laying 714 hits and blocking 523 shots.
Should opposing teams be interested in adding some defensive depth, Benning would offer a cheap third-pairing option. The right-shot defenceman is in the third year of a four-year $5 million pact he signed with the Sharks. The deal comes with a $1.25 million cap hit.
Friedman later added that as the Maple Leafs try to do what's best for him, other teams "know he's available" at this point.
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