Jordie Benn

Benn has never been one to shine on offense, but he was limited to just seven points in 44 games last year, his worst output since the 2012-13 campaign. He spent a large portion of 2019-20 as a healthy scratch, but that's unlikely to continue next year after the departures of Chris Tanev and Troy Stecher in free agemcy. Benn will be expected to at least fill a bottom-pairing role if youngsters like Jack Rathbone and Olli Juolevi struggle to acclimate to the NHL. Fantasy managers shouldn't expect more than 15 points from Benn, although he'll likely rank highly in blocked shots, which could give him some appeal in deep formats.

The Canadiens were in no rush to re-sign Benn, who was eyeing a raise after posting career highs in goals (five), assists (17), games played (81) and hits (124) while leading the team with 128 blocks last season. He played well for Montreal on the third pairing, but the Habs were happy with their inventory on the blue line, and opted to distribute their salary-cap space elsewhere. Benn was snapped up immediately after the free-agent market opened, signing a two-year deal with the Canucks. He will never be a flashy offensive performer, so there's a hard cap to his fantasy upside, but he should be a defensive asset on Vancouver's blue line in 2019-20.

Benn got a bad rap from the fans of Montreal last year, but that can happen when one plays in a hockey hotbed. It's not quite clear why he drew its ire because Benn was essentially the same player he was in 2016-17, when he was deemed a good addition after being acquired from the Stars. Benn had a career-high four goals to go along with 11 assists, while tallying a career-high 106 shots on net. As a rugged, meat and potatoes style defender, Benn does little to improve his partners, but doesn't hurt them either. He's a stable blueliner who deserves a spot on an NHL team, whether it's in Montreal remains to be seen. The Habs may want to use this season as a rebuild year to afford minutes to younger players, notably Victor Mete and Noah Juulsen. Benn's also slated to be UFA after this season so another team could send Montreal a middling draft pick for him before the deadline.

Montreal acquired Benn at the trade deadline last season, seeing an established NHL defenseman that could stabilize the third defensive pair and provide better than the replacement-level minutes they were getting from Greg Pateryn. Benn had a career-high four goals, including two in 13 games for Montreal, but there’s not a lot of flair to his game. Benn is a lefty shot who plays both sides and blocks shots. You won't find him pushing the puck and initiating offense but he’s the type of non-flashy blueliner head coach Claude Julien loves.

Benn emerged as a top-four defenseman for the Stars this past season. He's a tough player, but his fantasy value is limited by his style. He’s active and make some plays coming out of the defensive zone, but he's deployed as a stay-at-home defenseman who blocks shots and lays hits. Last season, he saw limited power-play time, but lots on the penalty kill. And that doesn't provide much value in most fantasy formats. Expect him to be utilized much the same way this season, and similar results (20 points, 100 blocks and hits) should result. There's always a possibility that his role might change, but we just don't see that coming.

Benn, the older Benn brother, spent the year back and forth between the AHL and the NHL. When in Dallas, Benn posted six points in 26 games while skating on the third defensive pairing. He projects as a depth defenseman and little else beyond that.

Benn, the older brother of standout forward Jamie Benn, showed some offensive potential last season in his second year at the AHL level (nine goals, 23 assists). He could see time in Dallas as injuries dictate, but fellow young blueliner Brenden Dillon has more upside.