Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Timothy Liljegren to Western Conference Team
After months of speculation, Brad Treliving has pulled the trigger on a Timothy Liljegren trade, sending him West to the San Jose Sharks.
For much of the early parts of 2024/25, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been surrounded by trade speculation, and now the team have officially moved Timothy Liljegren. After struggling to find playing time on a blue line that saw the additions of Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Jani Hakanpaa, the young blue liner just couldn't crack the lineup, with many believing a trade was near.
With Toronto looking to recoup some draft capital, they've now pulled the trigger on a deal, sending the 25-year old to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for two draft picks and 30-year old defenseman Matt Benning.
At 25-years of age, Liljegren has shown plenty of potential, with solid production in his three full NHL seasons, with years of 23, 18 and 23 points leading into 2024/25, but with an overflow of talent on the back end, something had to break, with the Maple Leafs confirming the huge trade on social media.
In return, Toronto will land a third-round draft pick in next years NHL Draft as well as a sixth-round pick a year later, but those picks may potentially not last long, as the team could be looking to make a blockbuster addition of their own at some point this season. Frank Seravalli has now given an update on the return, revealing that San Jose own two draft picks, one from Edmonton and one from Colorado, with the Maple Leafs to land the earlier of the two in the 2025 NHL Draft.
In Benning, Toronto land a 30-year old with almost 500 games of NHL experience, and while he's not going to be productive at the NHL level at this point, he'll be a valuable depth piece that can remain in the AHL all season long if he's not needed.
Ultimately, this trade was a long time coming, with San Jose and Utah among the teams invested in landing Timothy Liljegren, and while the return may not blow Maple Leafs fans away, it was a good move to get future draft picks now before he potentially lost value this season.
