Timothy Liljegren is No Longer Needed After Two Maple Leafs Defensive Upgrades
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Timothy Liljegren's time together is going to come to an end thanks to the emergence of Philippe Myers and Marshall Rifai.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs adding a bunch of new faces this season including Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Jani Hakanpaa, it pushed some of Toronto's longer-tenured defensemen out of the lineup as Toronto tries to instill some new life into their blueline.
Toronto Maple Leafs Have A Logjam Defensively
With those additions, Toronto also added Philippe Myers this offseason; a 6'5 defenseman who adds yet another big body and intimidation factor to the Maple Leafs. For a bottom-tier pairing, Myers offers the team someone unafraid to throw checks and be another solid penalty-killing defenseman Toronto can turn to. Myers made his debut against the Boston Bruins on Saturday in a losing effort, but looked comfortable on the ice in his first game.
In addition to that, they also have Marshall Rifai in their system, whom they signed after he finished with Harvard in the NCAA. Rifai is 6'2, and while smaller than Myers, he does offer a bit more offensive potential but is still able to be more than competent defensively; and he's not afraid to drop the gloves or lay a huge hit either:
So with these two players set to play a key part in the future of the Maple Leafs defense in the next few years, and Toronto needing to add some cap space; Timothy Liljegren is no longer needed.
The Timothy Liljegren Experiment Failed
The name Timothy Liljegren invokes a lot of frustration with Maple Leafs fans. After being drafted 17th overall, ahead of names such as Robert Thomas, Jake Oettinger, Morgan Frost, and Elli Tolvanen, Liljegren was expected to be the playmaking defenseman of the future for the Maple Leafs however it hasn't come to fruition.
Unable to impress either his current or former head coach, Liljegren has had bright spots but hasn't done enough to warrant a place in the lineup in their eyes. It's a blemish on the Maple Leafs to pay a defenseman who has been a solid player in the past to sit in the press box, however, the fact that Liljegren hasn't found a consistent spot yet may indicate some underlying issues with the defenseman.
Only scoring 65 points in 197 NHL games isn't terrible but given he's averaged nearly 17-and-a-half minutes of ice time for his career, it's a wonder why he hasn't been able to do more offensively. Perfectly capable of blocking shots and throwing hits, Liljegren often gives the puck away leading to goals from the opposition. It's not that he's out of position, but makes too many bad decisions which cost him.
Toronto Needs A True Center
If the Toronto Maple Leafs want to improve their roster dramatically, they need a true third-line center. It's admirable what John Tavares has done this season, but with diminished ice time, it seems his role is a bit less defined this year. Tavares did deal with an illness earlier this season however he's not shown the Tavares of old, even in a down year last season he managed to score 12 points in the first nine games, as opposed to only six points this year.
However, at $11M, Tavares is not going to get benched or demoted to the fourth line, so they need to find a true center to man their fourth line as David Kampf isn't the answer. Neither is Pontus Holmberg and asking Fraser Minten to shoulder an 'energy' line coming off an ankle injury is a tough task.
So Toronto should use Liljegren's $3M cap money on a center instead, making it imperative to recoup some assets. If Toronto can even persuade a team to take on Kampf's contract as well, it opens up an additional $2.4M to work with. Combined, that should be enough to get a package suitable for Toronto.
With Nashville's horrid start this season, maybe Toronto can kick their tires for a potential Colton Sissons trade. Sissons is the perfect addition to the Maple Leafs bottom-six, and adding Michael McCarron as well would give Toronto a massive body on the wing which fits the Brad Treliving mindset.
So What Exactly Will Happen?
No one knows, but one thing is for sure is that Toronto needs to do something quickly. Not only do they need money for a better center, but they also need to free up space for when Connor Dewar and Jani Hakanpaa return from injury. If the Maple Leafs wanted to make a statement and improve their team even more, they should get rid of the dead weight and put that money toward something they'll actually use.
