Toronto Maple Leafs 2021-22 Defenseman and Goalie Grades

Timothy Liljegren:

Timothy Liljegren recorded five goals and 18 assists for 23 points in 61 games.  Considering he never played on the power-play, that is very good production.  On a per-minute basis, second best on the Leafs.

The young defenseman leaped forward in his development and proved he’s ready to be a regular NHL defenseman. Liljegren plays well at even strength but isn’t great at breakouts or one-on-one defense. His 43 giveaways were a bit high, but something he can improve on with more playing time.

Though the coach deserves credit for deploying Liljegren in a way that maximized his abilities, and though we must take the insane numbers with a grain of salt because he was on the third pairing, Timothy Liljegren posted some of the best numbers in the NHL last year, not just on the Leafs (where he was, statistically, their best defenseman).

56% Puck Possession, 58% of the goals, 55% of the shots, 58% of the scoring chances, 59 % of the high-danger chances, and 60% Expected Goals. He was better than 93% of NHL defenseman last year, and the Athletic , Evolving Wild and JFresh (the three most prominent advanced stats rating cards) all agree.

If you look at other third pairing players, they don’t post those kinds of numbers, so it’s not like this is a decent player with inflated stats because of easy minutes.  This is a player who is on his way to greatness coming off a breakout season.

Liljegren seemed to play better once he got paired with Giordano at the end of the season, but in truth, he was crushing his minutes all year.  Hockey is the only sport I know of where fans and analysts look for excuses to discount an unexpected breakout performance.

Not playing him in the playoffs may be the biggest mistake of Sheldon Keefe’s career.