The Timothy Liljegren era has finally come to an end in Toronto.
Seven years after the Maple Leafs selected Liljegren 17th in the 2017 NHL Draft, they dealt him to the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday for a 2025 third-round pick, 2026 sixth-round pick and defenseman Matt Benning, the team announced.
His was a tenure, ultimately, of potential not fully realized.
The Leafs waited and waited, and hoped and hoped, that Liljegren would become a pillar on the right side of their top four on defense.
It never happened. And after Liljegren fell out of favor with new Leafs coach Craig Berube this fall, general manager Brad Treliving, who had no part in drafting or developing Liljegren and reluctantly brought him back on a two-year contract this past summer, decided it was time to stop waiting.
Liljegren played only once in the first 10 games of the season for Berube. He was passed on the depth chart by Conor Timmins and Philippe Myers and figured to fall even further when Jani Hakanpää returned from injury.
The Leafs were open to trading Liljegren in the summer, when he was still looking for a new contract and eyeing a potentially rich award in arbitration. They ended up signing him to a two-year deal with a cap hit of $3 million.
That choice quickly looked like a mistake at training camp where, almost right away, it became evident that Berube was not a fan. He said he wanted Liljegren to play a heavier game and make quicker decisions. He scratched Liljegren in the season opener and in eight of nine games after that.
That proved to deflate Liljegren’s trade value, with the Leafs fetching only two lower draft choices.
Before Berube, Sheldon Keefe was the only coach Liljegren had played for since coming to North America. Keefe was fired by the Leafs after last season and is now with the New Jersey Devils.
Even Keefe, who won a Calder Cup with Liljegren playing a central role for the AHL Toronto Marlies, was frequently frustrated by Liljegren and his inconsistent development. He scratched Liljegren in each of his three postseasons with the Leafs, including in Game 4 against the Boston Bruins this spring.
Liljegren’s decision-making could be erratic, and he often failed to play with the right amount of jam.
Liljegren, who is only 25 and hasn’t cracked the 200-game plateau in the NHL, could still blossom and make the Leafs regret giving up on him. He averaged almost 20 minutes per game last season, and there have been stretches throughout his NHL career when it looked like he was turning into a defender who could do a little bit of everything.
It never fully took, though, and the Leafs, desperate to end a decades-long Stanley Cup drought, brought in Hakanpää, as well as Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, to beef up their blue line over the summer.
And so, Liljegren’s time in Toronto is over.
(Photo of Timothy Liljegren: Kevin Sousa / Getty Images)
