| Matt Benning | |
| Birth Date: | 25 May 1994 |
| Birth Place: | St. Albert, Alberta, Canada |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lb: | 203 |
| Position: | Defence |
| Shoots: | Right |
| League: | NHL |
| Team: | San Jose Sharks |
| Former Teams: | Edmonton Oilers Nashville Predators |
| Draft: | 175th overall |
| Draft Year: | 2012 |
| Draft Team: | Boston Bruins |
| Career Start: | 2016 |
Matthew Benning (born May 25, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Edmonton Oilers and the Nashville Predators. He was selected 175th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.
Benning played two seasons of Junior A hockey for the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), one season with the Dubuque Fighting Saints junior team, then played for the Northeastern University Huskies from 2013 to 2016.
As Benning remained an unsigned draft pick of the Boston Bruins, he opted to sign a two-year, entry-level contract with his hometown club, the Edmonton Oilers, on August 27, 2016.[1]
After attending his first Oilers training camp, he unexpectedly made the Oilers opening night roster for the 2016–17 season. After sitting as a healthy scratch, he was reassigned to make his professional debut with American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. After two games with the Condors, Benning was recalled and made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 1, 2016.[2] He scored his first NHL goal against Cory Schneider of the New Jersey Devils on January 7, 2017.[3]
As an impending restricted free agent and due to salary cap considerations, Benning was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Oilers on October 7, 2020, and was released to free agency.[4] On October 9, Benning signed a two-year contract with the Nashville Predators..[5]
At the conclusion of his contract with the Predators, Benning left as a free agent and was signed to a four-year contract with the San Jose Sharks on July 13, 2022.[6] On December 3, 2023, Benning suffered a season-ending injury, which required a hip surgery.[7] Before the injury he recorded two assists in 14 games during that season.[8]
Benning was born in St. Albert, Alberta in 1994. He is the son of former NHL defenceman Brian Benning, who was born in Edmonton and played for the same AJHL Saints franchise (then located in St. Albert) 27 years before his son, and also featured with the Oilers through his 10-year career. His uncle, Jim Benning, played 10 seasons as an NHL defenceman and is the former general manager of the NHL's Vancouver Canucks.[9]
Benning is the older brother of Florida Panthers defenceman Michael Benning.[10]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 2010–11 | Spruce Grove Saints | AJHL | 43 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 65 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 2011–12 | Spruce Grove Saints | AJHL | 44 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 87 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 16 | ||
| 2012–13 | Dubuque Fighting Saints | USHL | 57 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 73 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2013–14 | Northeastern University | HE | 33 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Northeastern University | HE | 36 | 0 | 24 | 24 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Northeastern University | HE | 41 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 62 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 29 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | ||
| 2017–18 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 73 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 70 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 43 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2019–20 | Bakersfield Condors | AHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 53 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2021–22 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 65 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 39 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 77 | 1 | 23 | 24 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2023–24 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 457 | 17 | 85 | 102 | 235 | 24 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 24 | ||||