The Toronto Maple Leafs trade speculation heats up
Rumours regarding a trade involving Timothy Liljegren just won't go away. Two insiders point toward a trade looming on the horizon despite the Toronto Maple Leafs preaching patience.
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear ready to get Timothy Liljegren into a game on Wednesday when they play the Los Angeles Kings.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have sat Liljegren for their first three games, but the pairing of Simon Benoit and Conor Timmins hasn't exactly been great, and so he's going to get a chance to prove that the new coach has been making a terrible mistake - assuming he's still on the roster by then.
The Leafs may be motivated to make a move sooner than later because they are up against the cap with three players on LTIR. For now, the cap crunch wouldn’t be a big issue. However, when one or all of Calle Jarnkrok, Connor Dewar, or Jani Hakanpaa comes back, the Leafs will need to clear room to fit them under the cap.
Second, Liljegren may not be in the Leafs plans, but he's still a puck-moving right-handed defenseman with almost 200 games of winning his minutes in the NHL and has a ton of value. If they want to move him, there will be teams hoping to score the next Gustav Forsling or Devon Toews at a discount.
The Toronto Maple Leafs trade speculation heats up
Considering those arguments, it’s quite probable that we could see a Timothy Liljegren trade sooner, rather than later.
But there’s something else that’s been the talk of the town. Conor Timmins and Phillippe Myers seem to have overtaken Liljegren on the depth chart. Plus, the Marlies have two other blueliners who could jump into the fray: Marshall Rifai and Topi Nimiela.
As such, it seems that signing Liljegren to that two-year contract extension this summer was a mistake. Fortunately, it appears that this could be one mistake the Toronto Maple Leafs can still get out of. But they’ll need to bide their time until the right move comes along.
During Saturday night’s headlines during the second intermission of the Toronto Maple Leafs-Pittsburgh Penguins’ game, insider Elliotte Friedman briefed hockey fans on a number of key issues.
One of those key issues was the Liljegren situation. Friedman stated that the Leafs are “preaching patience” with Liljegren, meaning there’s no rush to trade him. Moreover, the Leafs still believe that Liljegren could be a part of the team this season.
Additionally, Friedman confirmed the Leafs have spoken to other teams about a trade involving Liljegren but have been unable to get an offer that meets their expectations.
Lastly, Friedman stated that he had heard rumblings about Liljegren being permitted to speak to other teams. However, Friedman pointed out that the Leafs have denied that information.
Ultimately, contrasting Friedman and Fox’s reports, it seems a Liljegren trade is looming on the horizon. In my estimation, it seems the Leafs are biding their time until a team is in a big enough crunch to overpay for Liljegren.
Thus far, the St. Louis Blues were desperate after losing Torey Krug for the season that they offer sheeted Philip Broberg. The Kings have lost Doughty. Could the Kings raise the white flag and trade for Liljegren? Luke Fox seems to think that’s where things are headed.
I concur. While it may not necessarily be the Kings, any team that suffers a significant enough loss on the blue line, could call Brad Treliving. I would keep an eye on teams like the Kings, New Jersey Devils, and especially the San Jose Sharks. These are teams with several defensemen currently on the shelf. They might be compelled to pony up for Liljegren.
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But then again, anything can happen. It’s going to be an interesting next few weeks as the season begins to heat up.