Timothy Liljegren‘s future with the Maple Leafs has been a hot topic in Toronto since the start of the season.
Ever since the defenceman failed to crack head coach Craig Berube’s opening-night lineup, it’s been reported that the Leafs have been looking at trade destinations for Liljegren.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada that Toronto is trying not to rush a trade despite rising tension between the two sides this season.
“Toronto is preaching patience with this. They are simply saying there is no reason he can’t still play for us,” Friedman said. “However, he’s a 25-year-old player, he wants to play. I think he’d like to be in a position where he can play.”
It was becoming clear that Liljegren was not in the coach’s favour when he wasn’t featured regularly with the main group during pre-season. When asked why things didn’t go his way during camp, the young defenceman couldn’t offer a reason.
“I tried my best, but it didn’t go my way,” Liljegren said. “I’ve just been trying to come in and work hard.”
When it comes to his uncertain future in Toronto, Liljegren has been trying to keep the noise out and control what he can control.
“Trying not to think about it, not really on social media that much, so I don’t see a lot of stuff. So if something happens, it happens,” Liljegren told reporters. “I’m just coming in and working hard. I love Toronto, I came over when I was 18 and I’ve been here ever since so I love the city, I love the team and I’m happy to be here.”
The Leafs haven’t ruled out the possibility of having Liljegren in the lineup, with Berube saying he has liked what he’s seen from the young defenceman in practice and could include him in the lineup on Wednesday against the Kings.
At Monday’s practice, Liljegren was skating on the team’s third pairing with Simon Benoit, while Connor Timmins was with Phillipe Myers as a presumed scratch.
Toronto focused heavily on defencemen in free agency over the summer, adding Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jani Hakanpää to its ranks, pushing Liljegren down the team’s depth chart. He has also been jumped by Timmins on the team’s blue-line pairings.
The Leafs negotiated a new deal for Liljegren, signing him to a two-year, $6-million contract in the off-season and making him the fourth-highest-paid defenceman on the team by AAV, perhaps adding a wrench to the hopes of dealing him.
“Now, I had heard this week that he had some permission to talk to other teams but the Maple Leafs have denied that, they’ve said that’s not true,” Friedman said. “But there’s no question they’re trying to get him to be patient and he’s simply trying to say, ‘Look, I’d like to play’ as any player would.”
However, the Maple Leafs are right up against the cap, and Liljegren carries a $3 million hit. While Hakanpää, Connor Dewar and Calle Järnkrok are currently on the LTIR, they will eventually return, making the team’s cap status all the more challenging.
Liljegren was selected by the Maple Leafs, 17th overall, in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft.
He has picked up 14 goals and 51 assists in 196 games over five seasons with the club. The Kristianstad, Sweden, native finished with three goals and 20 assists in 55 regular season games last year.