The Toronto Maple Leafs are desperately awaiting Liljegren’s NHL arrival.
The Toronto Maple Leafs success greatly depends, like any other team in the NHL, on prospect development through their farm system(s). It’s no secret their current on-ice success is founded upon that very development system.
Think about it, players such as Nylander, Johnsson, Hyman, Kapanen, Holl, Dermott and Engvall, just to name a few, all spend time with the Marlies before all becoming important pieces on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster.
Development of players such as Hyman, Johnsson, and Engvall have been the greatest successes, and all were late-round draft picks, making their development and success in the NHL a huge compliment for the Toronto Marlies as an organization.
It has enabled Kyle Dubas and Sheldon Keefe, who are the founders of this success, to surround the core group with complementary pieces to be a competitive team in the NHL.
Not to mention that it provides Dubas trade chips that could help improve the team.
Undoubtedly, Dubas and Keefe now eagerly look at how top prospect Timothy Liljegren develops with the Toronto Marlies, desperately awaiting his “NHL arrival”.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Timothy Liljegren
The Toronto Maple Leafs thought they committed grand larceny drafting Liljegren 17th overall at the 2017 NHL entry draft. Liljegren was long thought a top 5 pick and the best available defenceman of the draft.
A mononucleosis diagnosis in his draft year limited his on-ice development, causing him to slide down the draft ranking and ultimately making him available at 17th overall. Liljegren admitted he might have returned to soon from his illness.
Still available, Toronto didn’t hesitate to pick him up, expecting to develop him into their coveted top-pairing right-handed defenceman for the future. The vacancy the Toronto Maple Leafs have desperately tried to fill for years.
Since joining the organization, Liljegren has played for the Toronto Marlies in the AHL. During his first 2 years, Liljegren often displayed his potential but had trouble finding a level of consistency in his play. This year, however, Liljegren is (finally) breaking through, racking up 29 points in 38 games.
Following his NHL debut, the imminent question follows; can Liljegren become a top-four defenceman in the NHL?
Without any debate about it, yes.
Likely losing Tyson Barrie to free agency this summer, there might even be pressure for Liljegren to be ready. Something Dubas likely accounted for when he traded for Barrie.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Liljegren will be ready for that just yet next season, it will likely be a transition year making his minutes on the third pairing.
That means Dubas will have to find another short-term solution for next year, giving Marincin a bigger role isn’t a viable option, nor pressuring Liljegren into a bigger role he can handle now.
Luckily, with Justin Holl signed to a friendly contract for the following 3 seasons, Dubas signed his right-handed defenceman to complete the top-four pairings.
With Dermott, Holl, and Sandin developing as they are, and the expectations surrounding Liljegren, the Toronto Maple Leafs future on the blue-line has never looked so promising.