The Toronto Maple Leafs started training camp this week.
One of the biggest surprises when the Toronto Maple Leafs named their training camp roster was the inclusion of Mac Hollowell, and the absence of Nic Petan.
That was quickly rectified, as it was announced later that day that Petan was in and Hollowell was out.
But Hollowell wasn’t out for long, as the Leafs announced – the very next day – that Timothy Liljegren was “unfit to play,” and would not be entering the bubble with his teamates.
This was good news for Hollowell, but not good news for the Leafs.
Too Bad About Liljegren
The NHL has gone full mysteriouso on the injury front in an attempt to (for some reason) protect the identity of people who come down with Covid (though there is and should not be any shame in getting something anyone could easily get).
So this means that when a player is unfit to play – for any reason, barring an obvious injury – we will be inundated with speculation on why.
The Leafs mentioned that they may take 30, and not 31 players, on the off chance that Andreas Johnsson becomes available to them. Based of this, I assume that if a player leaves the bubble for whatever reason, then they cannot return.
This means no Liljegren.
And that’s too bad, because I’m really interested to see where his development is at, and because he’s on an ELC and potentially a part of the Leafs future.
Now he was never going to start, but there’s a good chance he could have played, since out of the Leafs ten realistic options (Rielly, Muzzin, Holl, Dermott, Ceci, Barrie, Sandin, Marincin, Rosen and Liljegren) only Barrie, Ceci and Holl are also right-handed.
If Liljegren were to prove himself an NHL player this summer, the Leafs blue-line problems would be all but over (not that I think they’re really hurting there anyways).
But now that can’t happen. Perhaps Mac Hollowell can surprise eveyone and make a name for himself. That would be great.
Regardless, it’s disappointing to not even have a chance to see Liljegren. People have ridiculously written him off a little bit because he was drafted before Sandin and has been overtaken by him the prospect rankings.
That is silly though, because Liljegren has been in the AHL at a younger age than most and he succeeded. He ended up becoming one of the best defensemen in the AHL and winning a championship with the Marlies.
Liljegren is only 21 and is still a potential NHL star. He will definitely be an NHL player, and he could easily make the Leafs out of training camp next season, whenever that is supposed to be.
He may not play this summer, but Liljegren is still an important part of the Toronto Maple Leafs future.