It’s not often you see a relatively young, puck-moving, right-shot defenseman languishing on the NHL trade market for months, but that’s the situation Timothy Liljegren is in with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Signed to a two-year, $3 million AAV contract in the summer, Liljegren struggled in training camp and the preseason this fall and has received scant playing time under new Leafs coach Craig Berube.
He’s been a healthy scratch for all but one game, when he played sparingly.
The Leafs will be over the cap once they get healthy and are carrying an abundance of right-side blueliners once Jani Hakanpää returns, so it feels like a matter of time before their hand is forced and Liljegren has to go.
But which teams could be a fit, given his unique player profile and the fact he hasn’t played much this season?
And can the Leafs realistically expect to receive much in return?
What Liljegren brings (and why he’s hard to move)
A first-rounder (17th overall) when he was picked back in 2017, Liljegren has had an up-and-down career. Though he graduated to the NHL in a third-pair role at age 22, Toronto coaches have at times been reluctant to play him in situations — including in the playoffs, where he has been a scratch in favor of bigger, brawnier veteran defensemen.
But the Leafs were worried about the contract Liljegren, 25, could receive in arbitration as a restricted free agent in the summer. Potential trade partners were also worried about an arbitration case back in June, something that factored into Toronto deciding to sign him to the deal that it did.
Liljegren earned his $6 million payday after stepping into top-four minutes for much of last season, filling a gap created when John Klingberg was shut down due to hip issues last November. By season’s end, Liljegren had played 55 games and a career-high 19:40 per game, producing a respectable 0.42 points per game.
The Leafs also won his minutes territorially when he was on the ice, posting a 54 percent expected goals share with Liljegren on the ice.
Overall, he’s become something of an analytics darling given his statistical profile. While Liljegren doesn’t excel in any one obvious area, he keeps the puck moving in the right direction when he’s on the ice. But his lack of a physical element — and more overt offensive ability — combined with inconsistent play have thus far limited his ceiling.
As a result, Liljegren is the type of defenseman that some NHL coaches don’t value despite his ability to break the puck out and drive solid possession and scoring chance results. He’s not hard to play against and isn’t always reliable in areas like the front of the net, making him a tweener as someone who might have top-four potential but hasn’t fully proved that.
Some NHL teams question whether he can be more than a sheltered depth option.
The perfect fit for him would be younger, rebuilding teams that want to roll the dice on a player with upside. But there aren’t a lot of those teams. And most of the teams that need help on right defense are contenders who are looking for more proven, surefire options.
Teams that might make sense for Liljegren
Utah Hockey Club
On Wednesday, Utah announced that both Sean Durzi and John Marino underwent surgery and will be out long term. Durzi, who was their de facto No. 1 defenseman last year, is expected to miss four to six months and Marino is expected to be out for three to four months. It’s a massive hit for Utah to lose both of its top-four right-shot defensemen, especially ones who can move the puck.
Sophomore Michael Kesselring has taken a significant step forward, which will help, but they’re thin on the right side of the blue line beyond that. They’ve been forced to play a left-shot player on the right side, and 35-year-old veteran Ian Cole has been averaging more than 20 minutes per game, which he’s never done in a full season.
(Cole similarly moved up the lineup at the start of last season for Vancouver. He competently held down the fort in the early going, but it wasn’t long before the fatigue and excess minutes started catching up and caused his performance to noticeably dip.)
If the Hockey Clubbers want to stay in the playoff hunt, they may need to look at adding right-side reinforcements. Liljegren could replenish some of the puck-moving they’ve lost, and Utah has tons of cap space, too, so taking on his contract wouldn’t be an issue.
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks have enough NHL bodies on the blue line, but none of their right-shot defenders project to make much of an impact in the medium future. Cody Ceci, Jan Rutta and Matt Benning are on the wrong side of 30. Ceci and Rutta are pending free agents this summer, while Benning expires the year after.
San Jose is the type of team that should roll the dice on Liljegren to see whether he can break out with a fresh start and a bigger opportunity. He’d inject much-needed puck-moving talent and would be an upgrade compared to what the Sharks are icing on their blue line. They have an abundance of cap space, which minimizes the downside risk if this move doesn’t work out.
Liljegren profiles as a low-risk, modest-upside gamble considering the Sharks’ rebuilding status, cap flexibility and need for young defenders with some potential.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings’ right side on defense has become a question mark after losing shutdown ace Matt Roy in the offseason and with Drew Doughty out long term due to an ankle injury.
Brandt Clarke has had a decent start to the season but got lit up for three goals against during Tuesday’s game against the Golden Knights. Jordan Spence’s play has been up and down, too. Vladislav Gavrikov, a left-shot defender, has been forced to play the right side, which isn’t ideal, although he’s handled the extra burden well.
Overall, the Kings defense has been a problem without Doughty as they surrendered at least six goals against in three of their first seven games. They could use a boost on the blue line.
Liljegren may not be a straightforward fit, though. For starters, he’s similar to Spence in that he’ll provide value in transition and as a play-driver but won’t necessarily be the steadiest/most trusted defensive presence. Also, what happens when Doughty eventually comes back?
The right side would then become a logjam where one of Liljegren or Spence would be sitting in the press box.
Teams that need help but probably aren’t fits
Vancouver Canucks
All you need to do to realize the Canucks need more blue-line help is look at the club’s even-strength results when Quinn Hughes is on the ice compared to when any other pair is deployed.
With Hughes, Vancouver has throttled opponents on the shot clock (81-42 advantage), controlled a dominant 67 percent share of scoring chances and outscored teams 7-2 at five-on-five.
In all other five-on-five minutes, however, the Canucks have been outshot 96-58 and controlled just 40.6 percent of scoring chances. Their bottom-four defense has been a major liability in the early going.
The Canucks have stockpiled big, strong defensive defensemen who can clear the front of the net, win net-front battles and defend responsibly. What they lack, and why they’ve been hemmed in their own zone so consistently, is an ability to consistently transition the puck up the ice with the second or third pair. Liljegren would certainly contribute in that area, and the Canucks have a need for more right-side help, but this doesn’t seem like a sensible fit because of his contract.
If Vancouver’s going to commit significant cap space to a defenseman, it has to be for a proven top-four option who can play high-leverage minutes in the playoffs. If the Canucks brought Liljegren into the fold, they’d have $8 million invested among him, Tyler Myers and Vincent Desharnais — three right-shot defenders who would ideally slot in a third-pair role. All of them are signed beyond this season, too.
Liljegren wouldn’t be a player Rick Tocchet is likely to trust to play matchup minutes, which is problematic because the second pair, led by Carson Soucy, is often tasked with playing against the opposition’s top lines.
Moreover, the Canucks have recently found a much cheaper internal puck-moving answer with Erik Brännström. The difference between them isn’t big enough to justify the major difference in salary.
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers are obviously thin on the blue line after losing both Ceci and Philip Broberg in the offseason. They’ve been trying to get by with a right side of Evan Bouchard, Troy Stecher, Travis Dermott and Ty Emberson, and all but Bouchard have been beaten up on the scoreboard and territorially, which has contributed to their slow start.
The issue is not only that Edmonton lacks the cap space to add someone like Liljegren, but as with the Canucks, he also doesn’t truly address their need for another proven veteran on the right side.
Expect the Oilers to look elsewhere before the trade deadline.
Dallas Stars
With Matt Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin and Nils Lundkvist, the Stars’ right-side blue line isn’t close to being contender quality. They’ll need to land an upgrade at some point, similar to last year when they acquired Chris Tanev as a rental.
Liljegren would certainly boost Dallas’ top six on the back end, but similar to Vancouver and Edmonton, there are two problems: The Stars need to aim higher to find a more established top-four defender for a deep playoff run, and his contract would be a hindrance.
Having $10 million tied up into Liljegren, Dumba and Lyubushkin beyond this season is really inefficient spending. Lundkvist has also quietly had a decent start to the season, which further reduces the impetus for the Stars to take a run at Liljegren.
Pittsburgh Penguins
A reunion with president Kyle Dubas, who was part of the Leafs organization that drafted and developed Liljegren, may make sense on paper.
But the Penguins have two pricey veterans in Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang ahead of him on the right side and no cap space to absorb the contract. And it’s not as if the Leafs can afford to take much salary back in a deal.
Perhaps if the Penguins decide to start a sell-off before the deadline, they might have room to take a flier on a player like Liljegren, but it’s hard to see how he would get the minutes to justify his salary there.
(Top photo: Kevin Sousa / NHLI via Getty Images)
