A big goal record watch and fulfilling the goal of just playing again were the talk of the Maple Leafs dressing room before Saturday night’s game in Long Island.
Toronto captain Auston Matthews entered play needing just one goal to tie Mats Sundin for the franchise record of 420, while just stepping onto an NHL rink again was going to be a big deal for defenceman Matt Benning.
Benning has yet to play with the Leafs after being acquired from San Jose in the Timothy Liljegren trade in October 2024, spending the ensuing time with the AHL Marlies and starting on the farm again this year.
Saturday morning’s skate indicated he was coming in, replacing Philippe Myers. The 31-year-old Benning has 464 NHL games of experience and will be linking a 40-year gap in family history from when his uncle Jim was on Toronto’s blueline.
Jim was chosen sixth overall by Toronto in 1981, played more than 300 games, but was traded in 1986 to Vancouver and played out the decade there. He got into scouting and eventually became Canucks;’ general manager between 2014-21.
Matt, whose father Brian was also an NHLer, was a late-round pick of Boston and on his third team in San Jose when Toronto acquired him
“(He and Jim) talked a little bit when I first got traded here last year, his experiences in Toronto and anything he could offer,” Matt told the Sun this week. “ I saw him this summer as well, talking about general things about the city.
“He’s back home in (B.C.), he was just inducted into the Scouting Hall of Fame and looking to get back into hockey eventually. He has a good hockey mind.”
Matt has tried to stay patient as other defencemen were promoted to the Leafs ahead of him.
“It’s exciting. I worked pretty hard to get back here,” said Matt. “It’s the first experience for me spending that amount of time down in the American League but I got some confidence, played a lot of minutes and found my game again.
“When the opportunity comes, I’ll be excited, ready and very appreciative of it.”
Matthews set the table to catch and pass Sundin in just 664 games with a hat trick in Thursday’s 6-5 win over the Winnipeg Jets. He now has 18 goals this year after a slow start to lead the Leafs and help the team improve its wildcard playoff position. Matthews’s output is even more vital with winger William Nylander likely to miss a fourth straight game due to a lower body injury.
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