The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed defencemen Matt Benning to a two-year contract worth $3.8 million with an AAV of $1.9 million per season. This contract carries him through the 2019-2020 season.

The #Oilers have agreed to terms with defenceman Matt Benning on a two-year contract extension. pic.twitter.com/anW4cjiH78

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 19, 2018

Matt Benning inks up with the Oilers

Benning has spent his entire two-year NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers. He has scored nine career goals along with 27 career assists for 36 career points in 135 games. He was originally drafted in the sixth round, 175th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Last season, Benning scored six goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 73 games. He also added 49 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 51.6 percent Corsi-for with a relative Corsi of +1.6. Benning is coming off his two-year entry-level contract worth $2.15 million. He signed this contract back in August 2016.

What This Means for Matt Benning and The Edmonton Oilers Future

Benning is a six-foot-one-inch physical defencemen who finished the year with 149 hits which was fifth-best among the Oilers. He will be a part a young defensive core for the Oilers heading into next season. Last season, Benning played on the blue-line switching partners with Adam Larsson or Kris Russell. He averaged 17 minutes of ice-time last season but in his final seven games of the season failed to reach more than 15 minutes.

Re-signing Benning benefits the Oilers by locking up one of their two right-handed defencemen. The other righty they currently have on the blueline is Adam Larsson. It also adds another young defenceman to their defensive core. Benning will look to solidify himself into a permanent defensive role next season. Benning will help the Oilers more on the defensive side of the game compared his offensive game.

Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images