No. 2: Jordie Benn
After losing Zach Bogosian during free agency this offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs should look to replace him. Although they have a number of young players in the organization who could fill his role, an established NHLer is better suited for that position.
Jordie Benn is your typical stay-at-home veteran defenseman. He never scores, but he’s tough to play against. At 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, he has good size and is someone who’s not going to hurt you defensively.
As the fifth or sixth best defenseman, Benn would be great in Toronto.
Benn isn’t going to be a shutdown defenseman who plays more than 15 minutes per night, but he’ll be able to provide some depth penalty kill minutes and leadership. With over 500 games in the NHL, Benn is solid player to have on your roster.
Based on his productivity over the past few years and the fact that he’s been on three teams in three years, he’s probably going to be cheap.
At an annual of AAV of $1.5M or less, Benn would be a good fit on this team and would be someone that the Leafs should target.