Simon Benoit knows his role with the Maple Leafs and does it well. There are few players like him in the NHL.

Simon Benoit’s contribution to the Toronto Maple Leafs isn’t subtle or difficult to comprehend.

The blueliner uses his 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame to knock down opponents — or get in front of their shots — to snuff out offence. When the occasion calls for it, he’s willing to drop the mitts.

In his own words, Benoit can’t “score a f—ing goal,” but he’s glad to hit the bodies for his teammates.

The Maple Leafs were served up a prime example of what that looked like in their loss to the New York Islanders on Monday as Benoit decked Mathew Barzal on the penalty kill, which prompted a fight with Bo Horvat. That tilt erased New York’s man advantage thanks to Horvat earning an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and Toronto tied the game seven seconds later.

. . .

Benoit hasn’t just been a stay-at-home guy with an edge this season, though. He has been the human manifestation of the dead puck era. Benoit and offence simply cannot co-exist.

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