Toronto Maple Leafs sign Victor Mete, Jordie Benn to 1-year contracts
Posted July 14, 2022 8:53 pm.
Last Updated July 14, 2022 8:56 pm.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have added some depth to their backend, agreeing to one-year contracts with defencemen Victor Mete and Jordie Benn, the team announced on Thursday.
Mete and Benn will earn $750,000. Sportsnet’s Luke Fox was the first to report the signings.
Mete, 24, spent the 2021-2022 season with the Ottawa Senators, where he had seven assists in 37 games. In 236 NHL games split between the Senators and Montreal Canadiens, he scored five goals for 43 points.
The Woodbridge, Ont. native was a restricted free agent for the Senators coming into this off-season, but the team opted not to extend a qualifying offer to the left-shot defenceman, granting him the opportunity to test the market as free agency opened.
The soon-to-be-35-year-old Benn is a veteran of 11 seasons. The brother of Dallas Stars winger Jamie, the Victoria, B.C. native, played 39 games with the Minnesota Wild this past season, scoring one goal and adding seven assists.
Toronto now has a crowded backend with restricted free agent defenceman Rasmus Sandin still in need of a new contract.
Along with Mete and Benn, Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jake Muzzin, Mark Giordano, Justin Holl and Timothy Liljegren currently round out the team’s defence.
