Update: he has cleared waivers and will report to the Marlies.

Matt Benning, acquired recently in the trade for Timothy Liljegren has one more year on his contract at a cap hit of $1.25 million.

He was injured last year, has not played much, and is a bit of an unknown quantity. He is a right-shooting defender, though. Dante Fabbro, another righty, was claimed on waivers just yesterday. The second year on the contract might see him clear however.

With the Leafs doing this now, it certainly indicates that Jani Hakanpää will be activated to the regular roster off of LTIR.

If Benning clears and goes to the Marlies, $100,000 of his cap hit will count.