Congratulations are in order for Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Simon Benoit and longtime girlfriend Alice Desaulniers. On Thursday, the Maple Leafs media relations account on X (formerly Twitter) announced that the Laval, Que. native would be absent from practice following the birth of his first child. No further details were given.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Simon Benoit is missing from the first day of training camp. But it's for a very good reason. The Leafs' PR team

NHL Network: David Pagnotta on NHL Tonight when asked if the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to make any more moves. Jamison Coyle: “One team always under the microscope, the Toronto Maple Leafs. Are they looking to make any moves as we get closer to the start of the season?”

Oh baby” as Bob Cole would have said, what a day for Simon Benoit. The bleary-eyed new father reported for his first day of on-ice practice with the Maple Leafs on Friday, about 36 hours after helping partner Alice with the birth of their first child.