Maple Leafs Reportedly Grant Timothy Liljegren Permission to Explore Trade Opportunities with Other Teams
The Toronto Maple Leafs have granted disgruntled defenseman Timothy Liljegren the chance to speak with other teams as both parties look for a solution out of Toronto.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs having a new grouping of defensemen, a new mindset, and a game plan when it comes to team identity, a lot of new faces have come into the locker room in hopes of turning the team's fortune around. GM Brad Treliving put a lot of stock into big-bodied, gritty, and tough defensemen. It's a big turnaround from the past few years when the Maple Leafs have had less-than-stellar defenders.
Unfortunately for Timothy Liljegren, it seems he has fallen out of favor with the Maple Leafs, sliding lower down the depth chart under Craig Berube, and doesn't seem to have a spot on the Maple Leafs or their AHL affiliate, Toronto Marlies. Liljegren has been afforded a chance to find greener pastures however, as the Leafs have permitted him to speak to other teams to gauge their interest according to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman:
"I had heard this week that he had some permission to talk to other teams, the Maple Leafs have denied that and said it's not true," added the insider.
Maple Leafs Defenseman Timothy Liljegren's Less Than Stellar Tenure
Of course, the team isn't going to be outright and say yes, we're giving up on Liljegren, but the fact he hasn't been involved in anything through training camp, hasn't played yet this season and lost his spot to Conor Timmins; the writing is seemingly on the wall for the former first-round pick. He hasn't been terrible in his time with Toronto, but hasn't been the elite playmaking defenseman they thought they were getting; he's put up 14 goals and 51 assists in 196 games and has been a defensive liability on the ice a lot of the time.
Timothy Liljegren averages nearly triple the amount of giveaways to takeaways, and for a defenseman giving the puck away so much, especially exiting the defensive zone is a death sentence for teams.
Toronto could use assets like draft capital, cap space (Liljegren is currently costing them $3M to sit out), or a potential prospect they could add to their ever-growing list. Liljegren would be able to secure a spot on some team in the NHL, either on a rebuilding team or seen as a reclamation project. Liljegren is a former first-round pick, is a right-handed shooting defender, and is still 25-years old, not even close to his prime and could blossom into a capable defender if given the chance.
It looks like the Timothy Liljegren experiment in Toronto might be over soon enough, though it might not be the last dance for the Swedish defenseman if he's able to find a partner.
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