{"id":31217,"date":"2018-06-19T17:52:41","date_gmt":"2018-06-19T21:52:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=31217"},"modified":"2018-06-19T17:52:41","modified_gmt":"2018-06-19T21:52:41","slug":"matt-benning-edmonton-oilers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/06\/19\/matt-benning-edmonton-oilers\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Benning Re-Signs with the Edmonton Oilers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Edmonton\u00a0Oilers<\/a> have re-signed defencemen Matt Benning<\/a><\/strong> to a two-year contract worth $3.8 million with an AAV of $1.9 million per season. This contract\u00a0carries him through the 2019-2020 season.<\/p>\n

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

\u2014 Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 19, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Matt Benning<\/a> inks up with the Oilers<\/h1>\n

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<\/a> in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

What This Means for Matt Benning and The Edmonton Oilers Future<\/h1>\n

Benning is a six-foot-one-inch physical defencemen who finished the year with 149 hits which was fifth-best\u00a0among the Oilers. He will be a part a young defensive\u00a0core for the Oilers heading into next season. Last season, Benning played on the blue-line switching partners with Adam Larsson<\/a><\/strong> or Kris Russell<\/a><\/strong>. He averaged 17 minutes\u00a0of ice-time last season but in his final seven games of the season failed to reach more than 15 minutes.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. It also adds another young defenceman to their defensive\u00a0core. Benning will look to solidify\u00a0himself into a permanent\u00a0defensive role next season. Benning will help the Oilers more on the defensive side of the game compared his offensive\u00a0game.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>