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We've got our second National Hockey League trade of a defenseman in as many days involving an Original Six squad. Tuesday night, the Detroit Red Wings sent Olli Maatta to the Utah Hockey Club, and now, the Toronto Maple Leafs have made a move of their own.
Defenseman Timothy Liljegren is on his way to the San Jose Sharks; in return, the Leafs receive San Jose's 2025 third-rounder, their 2026 sixth-rounder, and Matt Benning. The news was first reported on X by Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.
The Swedish native has only played in one game this season and has registered zero points. Drafted 17th overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2017 NHL Draft, Liljegren has skated in 197 career NHL games, all with the Leafs, scoring 14 goals and 51 assists. He's also added an assist in 13 career postseason games.
New Sharks D Timothy Liljegren was called out during Training Camp.
The Maple Leafs made a major leadership change over the offseason, bringing in hard-nosed head coach Craig Berube with the hope that he would bring a new level of accountability to the franchise that had won only a single postseason series since 2004.
And during Training Camp, Liljegren's subpar performance was called out by Berube.
“Lilly’s got to do things quicker. He’s got to be a little bit heavier in his battles and move into pucks quicker and simplify the game,” Berube said via The Hockey News. “He’s obviously battling. He wants to be a guy in the lineup every night, and that’s great. But sometimes you kind of put too much on your plate, right?”
