[Waivers] Avalanche G Kaapo Kähkönen / Maple Leafs D Matt Benning

[RWJC]

Avalanche Place Kaapo Kähkönen On Waivers

 

November 11th, 2024 at 1:07pm CST • By Josh Erickson

 

After the Avalanche claimed Kaapo Kähkönen off waivers from the Jets last month, the team announced they’ve placed him back on the wire today.

 

Issues with Kähkönen’s work visa significantly delayed his arrival in the Mile High City. Colorado claimed Kähkönen from Winnipeg on Oct. 11, and he was held out of action for over a week until the Avs got him some AHL action on a conditioning loan.

Kähkönen made two appearances on his brief stint with the Colorado Eagles, his first minor-league action since the 2019-20 campaign. He lost both contests but still put up solid numbers, recording a .919 SV% and 2.57 GAA. He’d been on the NHL roster since Oct. 29 but only made one appearance for the Avs, allowing four goals on 20 shots in a loss to the Lightning on Halloween Eve. He’s dressed as a backup or been a healthy scratch for every game since.

 

24-year-old Justus Annunen has been passable, and starter Alexandar Georgiev appears to be getting his feet back under him with a .904 SV% in his last three games. Thus, there was no longer much of a need for the Avs to carry three goalies on their roster, especially with injuries continuing to plague their forward group. Kähkönen, who signed a one-year, $1MM deal with the Jets in free agency over the summer, now must hope for a third team to take a flyer on him this season if he wants to keep an NHL roster spot.

 

If Winnipeg submits a claim for Kähkönen and is the only team to do so, they may directly assign him to their AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. The 28-year-old has a 49-68-15 record, four shutouts, a 3.34 GAA, and a .898 SV% in 140 career NHL appearances over the past six years.

 

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/11/avalanche-place-kaapo-kahkonen-on-waivers.html#ref=home
 

 

Maple Leafs Place Matt Benning On Waivers

 

November 11th, 2024 at 1:04pm CST • By Josh Erickson

 

The Maple Leafs have placed newly-acquired defenseman Matt Benning on waivers, Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN reports.

 

Toronto acquired Benning, 30, from the Sharks with a pair of draft picks in exchange for Timothy Liljegren nearly two weeks ago. It was immediately apparent the veteran was included for roster/salary cap purposes and that he wasn’t expected to stick around with the Leafs. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet quickly reported that they were looking to move the blue-liner, while James Mirtle of The Athleticsuggested last week that Toronto would waive Benning in short order if they couldn’t find a trade partner.

 

The Leafs and Benning will now hope that another team takes a flyer on him for no acquisition cost over the next 24 hours. He has one season after this remaining on the four-year, $5MM contract he signed with San Jose as a free agent in 2022. He carries a $1.25MM cap hit and will cost $100K against the cap for the Maple Leafs if he clears waivers and is assigned to AHL Toronto.

 

Benning, an Edmonton native, has not played for the Maple Leafs since the trade and has been a healthy scratch in six straight games. Before the trade, he went without a point and had a -5 rating in seven games for the Sharks while averaging a career-low 13:02 per contest. He had issues staying in the lineup with San Jose, too, going four straight games as a healthy scratch in late October.

 

In fact, Benning has made just 21 appearances since the beginning of last season. He missed the last four-plus months of 2023-24 after undergoing hip surgery in December.

 

The 6’1″ right-shot defender was a sixth-round pick by the Bruins in 2012, although he never signed with them and instead began his NHL career with his hometown Oilers after signing there as a free agent in 2016. In 464 NHL games in nine seasons, Benning has 17 goals, 85 assists and 102 points while averaging 16:37 per game.

 

https://www.prohockeyrumors.com/2024/11/maple-leafs-place-matt-benning-on-waivers.html#ref=home

[Bounce000]

Benning!

 

[Canuck You]

The name Benning is banned from Rogers arena.

[Ghostsof1915]

I guess San Jose won the trade? 

[VegasCanuck]

It is almost worth claiming Benning just for the reaction that would come from @Alflives.....

 

Edited November 11 by VegasCanuck

[Alflives]

3 minutes ago, VegasCanuck said:

It is almost worth claiming Benning just for the reaction that would come from @Alflives.....

 

 

[VegasCanuck]

4 minutes ago, Alflives said:

 

If only it was April 1st, I could have had some really good fun with this....

 

[Snoop Hogg]

5 minutes ago, Alflives said:

 

What year is that? He was still a moran back then!

[Coryberg]

3 hours ago, Canuck You said:

The name Benning is banned from Rogers arena.

We retired the name  

[Rocket-68]

 

... seeing the name "Benning" come across the waiver wire

Edited November 12 by Rocket-68

[higgyfan]

Benning made a lot of mistakes, for sure.  But he still has his fingerprint on the team right now.

EP, Hogs, Hughes, Miller, Boeser, Demko and Garland.

 

Possibilites:  Klimovich, Silovs

 

Like him or not, the guy deserves some credit.

 

 

Edited November 12 by higgyfan

[iinatcc]

9 hours ago, higgyfan said:

Benning made a lot of mistakes, for sure.  But he still has his fingerprint on the team right now.

EP, Hogs, Hughes, Miller, Boeser, Demko and Garland.

 

Possibilites:  Klimovich, Silovs

 

Like him or not, the guy deserves some credit.

 

 

 

Yes Some 

 

 

 

Edited November 12 by iinatcc

[JeremyCuddles]

Was Benning injured last year? How do you play only 14 games for a dogwater San Jose team? Guy is a worse Juulsen at this point.

[HKSR]

12 hours ago, higgyfan said:

Benning made a lot of mistakes, for sure.  But he still has his fingerprint on the team right now.

EP, Hogs, Hughes, Miller, Boeser, Demko and Garland.

 

Possibilites:  Klimovich, Silovs

 

Like him or not, the guy deserves some credit.

 

 

Who are those guys? Never heard of em... 

 

Now if you're talking current management... THEN we are talking! Desharnais, Kuzmenko, Forbort, Sprong, Mikheyev bitches!

[Alflives]

18 minutes ago, HKSR said:

Who are those guys? Never heard of em... 

 

Now if you're talking current management... THEN we are talking! Desharnais, Kuzmenko, Forbort, Sprong, Mikheyev bitches!

Benning. From child actor to NHL GM

 

Edited November 12 by Alflives

[Provost]

13 hours ago, higgyfan said:

Benning made a lot of mistakes, for sure.  But he still has his fingerprint on the team right now.

EP, Hogs, Hughes, Miller, Boeser, Demko and Garland.

 

Possibilites:  Klimovich, Silovs

 

Like him or not, the guy deserves some credit.

 

 

Nah, the system rules that give the worst performing GMs the best draft picks get the credit.

 

He wasn’t trying to be terrible.  He had the worst results per cap dollar spent in the league over his entire tenure.  The teams that did worse were actually trying to be bad and get the top picks.

 

We have lost whole draft classes to get out of messes he made.  He turned being gifted several top ten picks due to NHL parity rules into moves that have handcuffed the team and not allowed it to leverage having two elite stars into success.

[VegasCanuck]

4 hours ago, Alflives said:

Benning. From child actor to NHL GM

 

Personally, Alf, I think he's more Bela Lugosi...

 

[filthy animal]

Anthony has the lotion and the baby wipes all primed up for this thread

[iinatcc]

On 11/11/2024 at 11:39 PM, Alflives said:

 

Looks like someone with a North American heart 

[NM777]

On 11/12/2024 at 4:39 AM, JeremyCuddles said:

Was Benning injured last year? How do you play only 14 games for a dogwater San Jose team? Guy is a worse Juulsen at this point.

The article mentions that he missed more than four months of the second half of last season; due to hip surgery in December. Once he gets fully healthy he will be fairly sound again. He's a steadier and more experienced version of Juulsen with probably more hockey IQ as well.