The Toronto Maple Leafs seem dead set on trading Swedish right-shot defenseman Timothy Liljegren. After receiving a two-year deal that pays him $3 million per year, Liljegren seems to have fallen out of favor with the Leafs coaching staff, having only played a single game despite a mediocre 5-4-1 start to the season.
This has caused rumors to swirl that Brad Treliving and the Toronto Maple Leafs brass are attempting to facilitate a trade. The team is currently only cap compliant due to having multiple players on Long-term Injured Reserve (LTIR) and freeing up Liljegren's cap-hit would serve the team well, although he's way too good of a player and the team has spent way to long developing him to turn him into a cap casualty.
During his only game this season, there were reportedly 14 scouts in attendance, including Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill. It is no wonder why Liljegren is drawing the attention of many NHL clubs given what he brings to the table. He is only 25 years old, has nearly 200 NHL games of experience under his belt where he has mostly won his minutes, and has shown capable of playing second-pair minutes. Players that fit a similar archetype are hot commodities around the league and can fetch a good price.
The returns for trades like this obviously depend on a number of factors, usually ranging from later round picks if the team trading the defender is in need of clearing the cap space, or higher draft picks if this is not the case. The issue in evaluating Liljegren is that he is obviously much more capable than his current slot in the depth chart. The club's refusal to play him is potentially harming his value, so I used a few different criteria for teams.
In total, I looked for three requirements and one optional criteria; The salary cap necessary, assets available to make a trade, a spot for Liljegren to overtake somebody, and a public desire for a right-shot defenseman. I narrowed my list down to four teams and here they are...