The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to trade Timothy Liljegren. They’ll have to.
As Mike talked about his most recent post, the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect has made his way onto Craig Custance’s trade board, and rumours about moving him are probably not going to stop until after the NHL Trade Deadline.
In Mike’s piece yesterday, he outlined why the Leafs should keep Liljegren – young, cheap, has high potential and is a rarity as the ever mysterious right handed defenseman.
And while those are great reasons for keeping him, they also make him extremely valuable in a trade.
Liljegren Will get Traded
The reason the Leafs will trade Liljegren is simple: they want to win a Stanley Cup. They aren’t just contenders this year, they’re something close to favorites.
Yes, the Lightning have a huge lead in the standings, but there are a few factors we should consider before we assume the Lightning are so much better than Toronto.
1) The Leafs have played only one or two games with their ideal lineup. 2) The Leafs have received no production from William Nylander who will definitely start producing, eventually. Guaranteed. 3) The Leafs power play, while it is the best in the NHL in terms of puck possession and scoring chances, has not scored as much as it should. Again, this is an anomaly and it will start to produce. Guaranteed.
Add in the fact that the Lightning are winning at an unmaintainable pace and that the Leafs will 100% for sure improve their team between now and the deadline, and there is no reason to consider Tampa a better team.
It’s not impossible that the Leafs catch them in the second half of the season.
So, given that the Leafs are already the second best team in the NHL, and that they will surely improve, and that this is the final year when Matthews and Marner are cheap, the only conclusion a reasonable person can make is that the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to go all-in to win a Stanley Cup.
And that means that their best trade chip – i.e someone young, cheap, with a high potential and playing a coveted position – is almost certainly going to be traded.
The Leafs have Sean Durzi, Rasmus Sandin, Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman and Travis Dermott. And they are going to be trading for a right-handed defenseman, which will limit their need for Timothy Liljegren anyways.
They are stocked up on young defensive prospects, so they can afford to move one. They need to win the Cup this year, so making a move is necessary. They also won’t want to detract from their current team (Kapanen, Dermott and Johnsson).
That means Liljegren is the most likely to get moved. He might one day be a great player, they might one day regret trading him, however, they want to win a Cup, this is their best chance and they’re going to sacrifice him.
Sorry Mike, but Liljegren will never wear the uniform of the Toronto Maple Leafs.