No. 1: Timothy Liljegren
It’s kind of crazy how much Liljegren’s stock has fallen since his draft year. At one point, he was scheduled to be a top-five pick, before falling to Toronto at No. 17 due to injury.
At the time, it felt like the Toronto Maple Leafs grabbed the biggest steal of the draft, and although that may be true, it hasn’t came to fruition yet.
Liljegren is only 21-years-old and although he turns 22 in April, the Leafs and any other team shouldn’t be worried about his age. Until he’s 25-years-old, he still has a ton of upside and a chance to be a regular NHL defenseman.
It took Justin Holl until he was 27-years-old to get a real shot in the league and ever since he was given that opportunity, he’s taken advantage of it.
Liljegren is clearly the most intriguing prospect and player that everyone expects the Leafs to move on from in a trade. Besides Nick Robertson and Rasmus Sandin, who seem untouchable, Liljegren is the Leafs next best prospect and is someone who could move the dial in a big trade.
In a perfect world, Toronto is able to move one of their other top prospects and they can let Liljegren and Sandin compete for an NHL job next year, but if they really want to get a deal done, Liljegren’s name will probably be involved.
A trade is happening any minute, so stay tuned because one of these prospects will most likely be involved when it happens.