Confirmed with Link: Leafs Trade: Liljegren to San Jose for Matt Benning, 3rd and 6th

[Racer88]

Not a prospect, he was drafted in 2017.

He was at one time considered to go in the top 5 in his draft year, caught Mono, his ranking dropped off the table, was picked 17th, at the time it was thought to be a steal. I think fans were rightfully eager to see what he would become, and rightfully had high expectations of him. A Swedish RD with a projected high upside yeah people are goign to be excited. After more than a few chances to break the top 3, a series of unfortunate events like Covid and Marchand busting his leg impacted his development, he never really became what we thought he would become.

I hope he goes to SJ , becomes a top 2 d-man and proves that he was worth all the hype. You never heard him bitch or moan about his roster spot. Hard not to root for him. Sometimes shit dont work out where you are at and need a new start, Marchment, Bennett, Verhage, Reinhart are great examples of players who needed or recieved a fresh start and did the most of it.

Come on man this was comedy……some of my best work.

 

[notbias]

SJ high on his wish list? That's interesting. Low pressure? Sun? Friends on the team? Just a strange team to have high on your wish list in 2024.

I mean, he is competing against Rutta and Ceci on the right side for top 4 minutes.

He could end up being a top pairing D on that team at some point, I am sure playing time is huge for him at this point in his career, I don't think it would be outrageous to think it could be a top destination for him.

They are also young and could be competing in a few years when Liljegren is 28-30, so it may work out.

Also, might just be something he said and has no merit.

 

[Kiwi]

Man do we struggle to draft and develop defenseman
Just another sorry tale to follow the other sorry tales over the last decade

The writing was on the wall when Tre was hired and Berube loves him some size on the backend as well so this was never going to end well

I wish the kid the best of luck in SJ, he didn't run his mouth to the media or make trouble so I hope his career is a long and productive one, it just didn't work here and wasn't going to so best of luck

 

[weastern bias]

Sharks fan here, came to read the thread to get the fans' assessment of Liljegren

For those asking about Benning, he was the worst player on the worst team in the league this year, for your sakes you should hope this is a pure cap move for picks and that he is waived immediately, he has been absolutely awful for his entire Sharks tenure and coming back from hip surgery he looks completely unplayable

 

[notbias]

Sharks fan here, came to read the thread to get the fans' assessment of Liljegren

For those asking about Benning, he was the worst player on the worst team in the league this year, for your sakes you should hope this is a pure cap move for picks and that he is waived immediately, he has been absolutely awful for his entire Sharks tenure and coming back from hip surgery he looks completely unplayable

I think the general consensus with Liljegren is that he is more bad than good right now, not sure anyone would say he has been good recently.

Then we are split on whether he has upside still or not.

I personally think he's shown enough flashes of good play that there is still some upside, but some think he has nothing to offer.

I think his biggest strength is his transition play, everything else is alright.

A change of scenario and less pressure might just be what he needs.

 

[weastern bias]

I think the general consensus with Liljegren is that he is more bad than good right now, not sure anyone would say he has been good recently.

Then we are split on whether he has upside still or not.

I personally think he's shown enough flashes of good play that there is still some upside, but some think he has nothing to offer.

I think his biggest strength is his transition play, everything else is alright.

A change of scenario and less pressure might just be what he needs.

With this description he's still at worst the 4th best defenseman on our roster, the Sharks are BAAAAAAD, we came into the year with 3 NHL quality D in the organization so as long as he performs like a roster player this is going to be an upgrade for us

Just wanted to key some posters in on Benning, he's not a #5/6/7 or even #8 at this point, he's cooked

 

[notbias]

With this description he's still at worst the 4th best defenseman on our roster, the Sharks are BAAAAAAD, we came into the year with 3 NHL quality D in the organization so as long as he performs like a roster player this is going to be an upgrade for us

Just wanted to key some posters in on Benning, he's not a #5/6/7 or even #8 at this point, he's cooked

I've seen enough of Ceci and know Rutta has fallen off, so Liljegren can be anywhere from your #1-3 RD by the end of the year.

I think he is an NHL player and an elevated role in SJ might be good for him.

 

[sxvnert]

With this description he's still at worst the 4th best defenseman on our roster, the Sharks are BAAAAAAD, we came into the year with 3 NHL quality D in the organization so as long as he performs like a roster player this is going to be an upgrade for us

Just wanted to key some posters in on Benning, he's not a #5/6/7 or even #8 at this point, he's cooked

Even better. Leafs can bury his contract.

 

[MCR74]

Meh. He's shown flashes but that's it. Time to move on.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Sharks fan here, came to read the thread to get the fans' assessment of Liljegren

For those asking about Benning, he was the worst player on the worst team in the league this year, for your sakes you should hope this is a pure cap move for picks and that he is waived immediately, he has been absolutely awful for his entire Sharks tenure and coming back from hip surgery he looks completely unplayable

Liljegren was one of the worst players on a weak defense core. He may fall in the depth charts of your organization within weeks (or when any heavy forecheck comes his way). Do you like soft stick checking defensemen? He's your guy. We are laughing that you would give up a 3rd + 6th for him. Also you are naive if you think Benning will get any significant playing time in TOR.

 

[Leafsfan74]

I would like to hear honest assessments from those who believe Leafs didn't get enough for Lilly.

Brad tried to move him before the season even started (along with Robertson to some degree I'm sure) and there was little to no interest.

Leafs save almost $2M a year and now have to try and give Benning away if they don't see a future for him.

 

[Stephen]

Lehtonen and Barabanov were overseas free agents that were signed to one year league minimum contracts as depth insurance in the covid year, under the agreement that they would be moved if they didn't earn a spot. We played them, and they didn't earn a spot over others, so we moved them for the expected return.

I'm not really sure how you're trying to equate this to re-signing an established, drafted mid-20s RHD for 3m and term, playing him for 1 game the next season, and then dumping him for a couple mid-low picks and a cap dump. Very obviously, not close to the same thing.

His play? Yes. His trade value? No.

Ok, go reference the Travis Dermott trade. Unwanted young defenseman traded away from a 3rd round pick at 25 after 7 years of post draft development and underwhelming play and stagnant growth.

 

[Stephen]

I would like to hear honest assessments from those who believe Leafs didn't get enough for Lilly.

Brad tried to move him before the season even started (along with Robertson to some degree I'm sure) and there was little to no interest.

Leafs save almost $2M a year and now have to try and give Benning away if they don't see a future for him.

I think the "concept" of a Liljegren is better than Liljegren in actuality. Homegrown, Swedish RHD taken in the first round, good skater, good package of skills, looks decent at the transition. Untapped upside. It sounds good on paper.

 

[weastern bias]

Liljegren was one of the worst players on a weak defense core. He may fall in the depth charts of your organization within weeks (or when any heavy forecheck comes his way). Do you like soft stick checking defensemen? He's your guy. We are laughing that you would give up a 3rd + 6th for him. Also you are naive if you think Benning will get any significant playing time in TOR.

I just lived through the 2024 Sharks season, you don't even want to know what that D core looks like, lol, I assure your Liljegren is an upgrade in San Jose

He was a disappointment on your playoff level roster, we're coming off the heels of one of the 30 or so worst seasons in NHL history, if he manages to slide down our depth chart I will be legitimately impressed, it's hard work to be that bad

 

[Leafsfan74]

I think the "concept" of a Liljegren is better than Liljegren in actuality. Homegrown, Swedish RHD taken in the first round, good skater, good package of skills, looks decent at the transition. Untapped upside. It sounds good on paper.

Yes. It was never going to work here. It probably won't work for in SJ except he might have a few high flyer teams he can sting for some points.

He's not a Lindstrom or a Salming. For as much of the high expectations people he had, in the end he's just Lilly and that's ok. Just not on a contending team that must win in the playoffs...now.

 

[Stephen]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1851762561454084275

Absolutely atrocious drafting and development during this time.

Agree the Leafs were terrible drafting during those two formative years, but also worth pointing out 2017 and 2018 were poor draft classes overall... some teams really made hay in those years but not Toronto.