4 possible trade destinations for Toronto Maple Leafs Timothy Liljegren
The Toronto Maple Leafs seem dead set on trading Swedish right-shot defenseman Timothy Liljegren. Liljegren seems to have fallen out of favor with the Leafs coaching staff so I take a look at 4 potential trade destinations
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...
Montreal Canadiens
It has been heavily speculated that the Montreal Canadiens are in the market for a right-shot defenseman. This stems from reports that fan-favorite Arber Xhekaj has fallen out of favor with Head Coach Martin St. Louis, after being a healthy scratch in back-to-back games this past week as well as some of his comments in the media.
There are complications to making this deal, the most obvious being the fact that the Habs and Leafs are long and historic rivals. If the two sides can get past this, there is some real potential for a deal to be found. Although, there are some issues relating to the cap but those can always be finagled and worked around.
The possible return depends on a wide variety of factors but the Canadiens have a lot of different assets that could be of value to the Leafs. If it's a hockey trade, Christian Dvorak could be an option for center depth. The team also has a number of prospects and picks, with12 choices alone in the 2025 NHL Draft and 21 in total over the next two years.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks are firmly in year two of their rebuild and after being graced with the first overall pick in 2024, Macklin Celebrini, the future already looks bright. The team made moves in the off-season to make some marginal upgrades to their roster to hopefully escape the basement. They added the widely regarded top goaltending prospect in Russian Yaroslav Askarov, they also made some key additions in free agency; signing forwards Tyler Toffoli and Alex Wennberg, as well as defencemen Cody Ceci and Jake Walman.
Timothy Liljegren is an acquisition that makes sense. He fits into their rebuilding timeline, fits their salary cap scheme with $7.5 million available. As well, the team has the requisite picks to make a deal work and they have the assets both on their roster and in the system. This makes them an ideal trade partner
Utah Hockey Club
Sean Durzi is a right-handed defenseman and is a key piece to the Utah HC's blueline, averaging over 22 minutes a night last season for the then Arizona Coyotes. Unfortunately, he is currently expected to be sidelined for up to six months, leaving him unavailable until possibly April or later. So, the need is there but the means are also there as well. the team has 26 picks over the next three years with three in the second round next year and two in the third round over the next two years.
The club also has the required cap space, currently sitting with around $8 million in available space, which would leave them room to add Liljegren and activate Durzi when he is ready to return with minimal issue. A similar deal was done last season when the Vancouver Canucks acquired Nikita Zadorov midseason from the Calgary Flames for a third and fifth round pick. At this stage, a similar return would be welcomed, helping the team to stock up on draft picks for their prospect cupboard or to use for future deadline acquisitions.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks have been blessed with both the first and second overall pick in the past two consecutive drafts. They selected potential generational talent Connor Bedard and projected future top-pair blueliner in Artyom Levshunov, respectively. The team also made multiple moves over the summer that indicated a desire to improve their team starting this year. They dished out nearly $20 million to supplement their lineup and adding a 25-year old blueliner would certainly help the team now and in the future.
Despite their big spending, the team has the cap space and the means to pull off a deal for Liljegren with eight picks in the first two rounds of the upcoming two drafts. They also have prospects and potentially other young players that might be of interest, like a Lukas Reichel who seems to have also fallen out of favor and may require a change of scenery. (All salary cap information via puckpedia.com).
Although many things can change and it's a fluid business, these are the four teams I feel make the most sense for a Liljegren trade.