Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Timothy Liljegren has garnered some interest around the NHL, according to Daily Faceoff&#8217;s Frank Seravalli.
During an appearance on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/joe-girardi-dallas-braden-on-yankees-fans-robertsons/id1645602129?i=1000675023820">The JD Bunkis Podcast on Wednesday</a>, Seravalli was asked for an update on where things stand with Liljegren in the wake of the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-lose-potential-timothy-liljegren-trade-partner-after-detroit-utah-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Utah Hockey Club acquiring Olli Maatta</a> from the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. While he is not aware of the specific teams involved in the sweepstakes, he got the sense that there are teams that have spoken with the Leafs about the pricetag of the former 2017 first-round pick.
&#8220;I was told that a few teams had inquired and asked, understanding that he&#8217;s available, &#8216;Hey, what&#8217;s the price gonna be? What does this look like?'&#8221; he said. &#8220;It seems like there&#8217;s been enough interest, at least to this point, that they can end up moving the player without much consequence.&#8221;
Liljegren has been considered a trade candidate <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-news-4-trade-candidates-salary-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">since the beginning of the offseason</a>, even after he was <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-sign-timothy-liljegren-to-2-year-deal-deal-reportedly-worth-3m-aav" target="_blank" rel="noopener">given a two-year extension</a> with a $3 million AAV. <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-3-trade-destinations-defenceman-timothy-liljegren" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The uncertain future for him</a> with the organization has been further exasperated by the fact he has been overtaken on the depth chart by Conor Timmins and Phillippe Myers, only getting into one game so far this season. Combine that with the impending return of Jani Hakanpaa, and it is clear that <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/david-pagnotta-thinks-the-leafs-could-look-to-package-liljegren-with-other-assets-in-a-trade-leafs-morning-take" target="_blank" rel="noopener">something will soon have to give</a> for the Swedish defenceman.
The writing has been on the wall for <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/the-numbers-say-play-timothy-liljegren-but-will-the-maple-leafs-listen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liljegren since training camp concluded,</a> and he seems prepared for whatever comes next while doing everything he can for another shot in the lineup.
<div class="mb-5">&#8220;I&#8217;m just taking it day by day. I mean, coming in is trying to be positive. Work hard. Whatever happens will happen,&#8221; he said after Wednesday&#8217;s practice via The Hockey News&#8217; David Alter. &#8220;My focus is here to get back and win. We&#8217;re competitive, and we want to play, obviously. So, it&#8217;s a battle mentally to stay positive, but that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m going to do.&#8221;</div>
As mentioned earlier, Utah made the move to acquire Maatta on Tuesday to address its rapidly depleted blueline, with Sean Durzi and John Marino getting injured and requiring lengthy recovery times. They seemed like a logical spot for Liljegren to be traded, given the circumstances, and it appears now the opportunity has passed.
While that may be the case for Utah, Seravalli believes that there are still enough teams out there that could use a player like Liljegren that there remains an opportunity to get something done.
&#8220;I think there&#8217;s enough teams that are in the market for a warm body and a defenceman that particularly can play the right side,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The biggest thing going against Liljegren is his term. That&#8217;s the key difference between him and Olli Maatta, right? Maatta has the same cap hit, obviously an older player [at] 30 years old, but he&#8217;s in the last year of his deal and that makes it a lot easier to move. Also has a lot more experience to point to to say hey, we know exactly what this guy is at this point in time. The Utah Hockey Club had an extra third-round pick, and it&#8217;s easy to make that move to bring in a temporary stopgap when you had the extra pick and it doesn&#8217;t really mean much to you.&#8221;
&#8220;I do think there&#8217;s a couple of teams that have shown some interest. The fact that he is younger in that case might help,&#8221; Seravalli added. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;re gonna have to eat money, I don&#8217;t know how much value they&#8217;re gonna get in return. But the point is, if they get to a spot where they have to make a move because of the cap considerations, I don&#8217;t believe it&#8217;s going to be difficult for them to do so.&#8221;
While it remains to be seen if and when a hypothetical trade involving Liljegren occurs, the fact remains that the clock is ticking on his tenure with the Leafs. He has fallen down the depth chart, has not done enough to convince Craig Berube to grant him more playing time, and did not leave a strong enough impression in the one game he did play against the Los Angeles Kings.
There is no doubt that he has shown flashes of his potential in the past, but he has not been able to put it all together over the years, especially not through the first ten games of the 2024-25 campaign. As a result, Liljegren is now in a spot where he is making $3 million a season and a frequent healthy scratch on a team that will soon need to shed some salary to remain cap-compliant.
If Seravalli&#8217;s report is any indication, the Liljegren saga could soon reach a resolution, and there are enough teams interested in his services that a move may come to fruition eventually.

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Timothy Liljegren has garnered some interest around the NHL, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

During an appearance on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/joe-girardi-dallas-braden-on-yankees-fans-robertsons/id1645602129?i=1000675023820">The JD Bunkis Podcast on Wednesday</a>, Seravalli was asked for an update on where things stand with Liljegren in the wake of the <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-lose-potential-timothy-liljegren-trade-partner-after-detroit-utah-deal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Utah Hockey Club acquiring Olli Maatta</a> from the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. While he is not aware of the specific teams involved in the sweepstakes, he got the sense that there are teams that have spoken with the Leafs about the pricetag of the former 2017 first-round pick.

"I was told that a few teams had inquired and asked, understanding that he's available, 'Hey, what's the price gonna be? What does this look like?'" he said. "It seems like there's been enough interest, at least to this point, that they can end up moving the player without much consequence."

Liljegren has been considered a trade candidate <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-news-4-trade-candidates-salary-cap" target="_blank" rel="noopener">since the beginning of the offseason</a>, even after he was <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/maple-leafs-sign-timothy-liljegren-to-2-year-deal-deal-reportedly-worth-3m-aav" target="_blank" rel="noopener">given a two-year extension</a> with a $3 million AAV. <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/toronto-maple-leafs-3-trade-destinations-defenceman-timothy-liljegren" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The uncertain future for him</a> with the organization has been further exasperated by the fact he has been overtaken on the depth chart by Conor Timmins and Phillippe Myers, only getting into one game so far this season. Combine that with the impending return of Jani Hakanpaa, and it is clear that <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/david-pagnotta-thinks-the-leafs-could-look-to-package-liljegren-with-other-assets-in-a-trade-leafs-morning-take" target="_blank" rel="noopener">something will soon have to give</a> for the Swedish defenceman.

The writing has been on the wall for <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/the-numbers-say-play-timothy-liljegren-but-will-the-maple-leafs-listen" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liljegren since training camp concluded,</a> and he seems prepared for whatever comes next while doing everything he can for another shot in the lineup.
<div class="mb-5">"I'm just taking it day by day. I mean, coming in is trying to be positive. Work hard. Whatever happens will happen," he said after Wednesday's practice via The Hockey News' David Alter. "My focus is here to get back and win. We're competitive, and we want to play, obviously. So, it's a battle mentally to stay positive, but that's what I'm going to do."</div>
As mentioned earlier, Utah made the move to acquire Maatta on Tuesday to address its rapidly depleted blueline, with Sean Durzi and John Marino getting injured and requiring lengthy recovery times. They seemed like a logical spot for Liljegren to be traded, given the circumstances, and it appears now the opportunity has passed.

While that may be the case for Utah, Seravalli believes that there are still enough teams out there that could use a player like Liljegren that there remains an opportunity to get something done.

"I think there's enough teams that are in the market for a warm body and a defenceman that particularly can play the right side," he said. "The biggest thing going against Liljegren is his term. That's the key difference between him and Olli Maatta, right? Maatta has the same cap hit, obviously an older player [at] 30 years old, but he's in the last year of his deal and that makes it a lot easier to move. Also has a lot more experience to point to to say hey, we know exactly what this guy is at this point in time. The Utah Hockey Club had an extra third-round pick, and it's easy to make that move to bring in a temporary stopgap when you had the extra pick and it doesn't really mean much to you."

"I do think there's a couple of teams that have shown some interest. The fact that he is younger in that case might help," Seravalli added. "I don't think they're gonna have to eat money, I don't know how much value they're gonna get in return. But the point is, if they get to a spot where they have to make a move because of the cap considerations, I don't believe it's going to be difficult for them to do so."

While it remains to be seen if and when a hypothetical trade involving Liljegren occurs, the fact remains that the clock is ticking on his tenure with the Leafs. He has fallen down the depth chart, has not done enough to convince Craig Berube to grant him more playing time, and did not leave a strong enough impression in the one game he did play against the Los Angeles Kings.

There is no doubt that he has shown flashes of his potential in the past, but he has not been able to put it all together over the years, especially not through the first ten games of the 2024-25 campaign. As a result, Liljegren is now in a spot where he is making $3 million a season and a frequent healthy scratch on a team that will soon need to shed some salary to remain cap-compliant.

If Seravalli's report is any indication, the Liljegren saga could soon reach a resolution, and there are enough teams interested in his services that a move may come to fruition eventually.

Recent articles from Michael Mazzei

Breaking News