5 trade destinations for Maple Leafs' Liljegren
The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly gauging the trade market for defenseman Timothy Liljegren, who was a healthy scratch in each of the team's first three games to open the season.
Liljegren has fallen out of favor with new head coach Craig Berube, losing his spot on the blue line to Conor Timmins - a frequent scratch under previous bench boss Sheldon Keefe. The Maple Leafs also have another right-shot defenseman in Jani Hakanpaa, who will come off long-term injured reserve at some point this season, leaving even less room for Liljegren on the roster.
Liljegren does have some appeal. The 2017 first-round pick is still only 25 years old, and right-shot defensemen are typically in high demand around the league. He's played 183 games over the last three seasons, averaging 17:56 per contest, and the Leafs have controlled 56.4% of the five-on-five expected goals and 57.8% of the actual goals with Liljegren on the ice in that span.
The 6-foot-1, 192-pound Swede is also a decent skater and puck mover, but he's drawn criticism for defending around his own net, especially against bigger, stronger forwards.
The Maple Leafs signed Liljegren to a two-year, $6-million contract in the offseason - a deal general manager Brad Treliving may like to have back. The $3-million cap hit could make Liljegren tough to move at this point in the season, when most teams are capped out and still eager to see what they have internally.
Nonetheless, some teams might be inclined to show interest. Rebuilding clubs may be willing to take a look if the price is next to nothing, and there are a few contending teams that could use his services.
Dallas Stars
When everyone is healthy, Nils Lundkvist is Dallas' No. 6 defenseman. The Stars sent a first-round pick to the New York Rangers for the young Swede in 2022, but the investment has not paid off. Lundkvist, 24, is viewed by head coach Peter DeBoer as virtually unplayable during the playoffs. He averaged 4:28 of ice time in 12 postseason games a year ago before he was scratched for Alex Petrovic - a 32-year-old who's played one NHL game in the last five years.
Liljegren could provide some of the same puck-moving skills that the Stars hoped to get out of Lundkvist, but with a bit more defensive reliability. Dallas has $2.4 million in cap space, too, so it can afford Liljegren by optioning a single player to the minors.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers desperately need a suitable partner for Darnell Nurse on the No. 2 pairing. Philip Broberg, Cody Ceci, and Vincent Desharnais took turns a year ago, but all three are gone now. Edmonton tried newcomers Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott in that spot in its first two games, and the results were poor - 44.7% five-on-five expected goals share with Dermott, 30.4% with Emberson.
A $9.25-million defenseman like Nurse should be able to elevate a lesser partner, but that just isn't the case, and, while Liljegren is not a proven No. 4 blue-liner, he'd certainly be an upgrade over Dermott or Emberson.
The Oilers only have about $1 million in cap space, so they'd have to create room. But if the losses keep piling up, and a fitting partner for Nurse doesn't emerge, Liljegren could be an option.
Florida Panthers
Would the Maple Leafs even entertain trading Liljegren to a divisional foe? Maybe not. The Panthers are right up against the cap, too, so they'd have to perform some gymnastics in order to afford Liljegren.
However, there's no denying the Panthers' blue line has needs, specifically on the right side. Behind Aaron Ekblad, the depth chart consists of veteran lefties Dmitry Kulikov and Nate Schmidt, who are playing on their off sides, and the offensively gifted but defensively unreliable Adam Boqvist, who was only trusted to play 10:30 on Saturday, even though the team was trailing most of the game.
A trade with Florida still seems unlikely, but never say never.
Los Angeles Kings
Drew Doughty is month-to-month to begin the season while recovering from a fractured ankle suffered in preseason. In the meantime, the right side of Los Angeles' blue line is made up of Jordan Spence, Brandt Clarke, and Kyle Burroughs. Liljegren would be a sizeable upgrade over Burroughs and offers more experience than both Spence and Clarke.
With Doughty's $11-million cap hit on LTIR, the Kings have more than enough money to take on Liljegren's contract while Doughty remains out. They would be over the cap when Doughty returns, but they can kick the can down the road and worry about that later. It's possible other injuries occur between now and then.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are perhaps the most obvious landing spot for Liljegren. Pittsburgh's president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas was part of the Maple Leafs' front office that drafted the blue-liner, and he was GM of the 2018 Calder Cup-winning Toronto Marlies squad that included Liljegren.
While there admittedly isn't a lot of ice time to go around on the right side of a blue line that boasts Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, Liljegren would be an upgrade over rookie Jack St. Ivany, who is getting destroyed this season.
(Cap source: PuckPedia)
(Analytics source: Evolving-Hockey)