Liljegren the new Stralman

[NarcoPolo]

Not sure what games you guys watch thinking a player like Liljegren is much use to us.

An actual young superstar and bona-fide stud like Marner is getting chased out of town but a thread exists to save this mediocre bandaid top 4 because of some myth he wasn't used properly.

He wasn't held back by Keefe. He was simply too trash to be used how you guys wanted him to be used.

Only thread that should exist along these lines is one that states Marner is the next Tkachuk

How is he not? He’s one of our only defensemen that doesn’t get absolutely shelled every time he steps on the ice. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really sick and tired of watching Morgan Rielly look up to the sky in disbelief after being the root cause for getting scored on every other night. We played some of our best hockey last season with Morgan out and liljegren playing top pair minutes.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

24/25 year old European dman who everyone couldn't wait to trade because he never consistently found his potential. And what happens after they give up on him? He becomes one of the most dependable top 4 dmen in the league on several contending teams.

Liljegren, a homegrown RD deserves an actual shot (like Woll) at being that guy instead of being given no minutes to do what he shines with. When given opportunity he continues to shine before being buried

This season Timothy Liljegren has 17 points in 21 games where he plays at least 21 minutes. The Leafs are 17-3-1 during that time.

For you stat nerds

https://x.com/i/web/status/1760800447214846150

When Liljegren was promoted to the PP quarterback when Rielly was suspended our PP had the most successful stretch of the season. Liljegren got better as the year went on but simply was not trusted by the coaching staff to actually be allowed to make a difference.

https://x.com/i/web/status/1776244903346851884

I propose trading Liljegren would be a massive mistake. Instead, the Leafs should keep him and let Berube evaluate him and see if he can earn a top 4 spot. We are already trusting our prospects in other ways with Woll as our projected starter and Knies, McMann, Cowan, Robertson being entrusted to take a step for us and fill the role we put them in.

Liljegren is a legit top 4 dman he just needs to be let loose for 25 games.

Let me ask You something, legitimately what does he actually do?

He's never had more than 23 points in a season so he doesn't really provide offense.

He's not particularly good defensively.

He doesn't hit

He doesn't fight

He doesn't block shots

He's never played a full season.

So what does he actually do?

You won't be able to answer that question because there is no answer

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

I barely remember Stralman when he was here.

He only played parts of two seasons in Toronto. He went on to have a pretty good career. But I didn't watch him enough to know much about him.

If they trade Liljegren and he becomes the next Stralman I won't care.

Liljegren will never be that good here. And Stralman wasn't even all that good. The Leafs managed just fine without him.

I'm sure they'll survive without Lilybust around too.

They shouldn't be shy of trying to use his first round pedigree in a trade. Sell some sucker on the possibility for untapped potential. If he goes on to become the next Stralman it's not a huge loss the team can't recover from.

They only have to replace what he is now, not what he could, maybe, possibly one day be.

 

[Stringer Bell]

Stralman was pretty good. The perfect number 2 for a number of years.

 

[crump]

Stralman was pretty good. The perfect number 2 for a number of years.

Never liked the trade, wanted them to keep him somehow, but before acquiring Phaneuf leafs had Kaberle, Ian White, Beauchemin, Komasarek, Schenn, Finger, Exelby. In hindsight you keep Stralman over everyone but Kaberle and Schenn. Leafs looked deep on defense. Little did we know.

 

[darrylsittler27]

The problem is Toronto doesn't draft dmen and when they do they try and turn them into something they aren't. Lily is an offensive type defensemen, so is Reilly. Because we have no one we try and change them. Lily would get 40 pts and be effective on another team that had a lot of defensive dman. You don't turn a sword into a gun so to speak. Keefe was never the right coach for this team ever.

 

[arso40]

The problem is Toronto doesn't draft dmen and when they do they try and turn them into something they aren't. Lily is an offensive type defensemen, so is Reilly. Because we have no one we try and change them. Lily would get 40 pts and be effective on another team that had a lot of defensive dman. You don't turn a sword into a gun so to speak. Keefe was never the right coach for this team ever.

nail on the head on lily and keefe

 

[conFABulator]

The problem is Toronto doesn't draft dmen and when they do they try and turn them into something they aren't. Lily is an offensive type defensemen, so is Reilly. Because we have no one we try and change them. Lily would get 40 pts and be effective on another team that had a lot of defensive dman. You don't turn a sword into a gun so to speak. Keefe was never the right coach for this team ever.

That's an interesting take. I think they try to turn dmen into "all around defenders" rather than say turn them form "offensive" into "defensive" and that seems more commendable, though still turning nrem into something they are not, so maybe your original point remains true.

Having said this, and maybe it's too late, this is one of the things i like about the D signings the Leafs made this off-season. They seem to augment, compliment and support our existing personnel.

Tanev with Reilly could allow Mo to play his actual game. He can take more chances and push the play knowing he has Tanev with him.

I am not sure what the next two pairings will be (assuming Haakanpaa doesn't factor in early), but if we keep McCabe and Benoit together (which worked well last year) then this leaves OEL with Lily and I really like this potential. Isn't the ideal role and upside for Liljegren to become an OEL? Maybe it is the guy who can score points, move the puck and play some PP without being a liability defensively? I could see OEL as a great mentor and support for Lily whether they are paired together or not.

On that note, we have some PP options in OEL and Liljegren that we should explore. It will reduce Rielly's points but also his ice time and maybe even the pressure on him. Timmins could factor in here, but he is a longshot wildcard and I don't know who's role he takes in the lineup.

We also have Benoit, McCabe, Tanev, OEL and Hakanpaa (wild card) on the PK now with no one (Rielly and Liljegren) being miscast.

If these are our six, maybe the ice time is more evenly distributed also, which I think can only help all of them; maybe 16 ES minutes for each pair, 3 PP minutes for each of Reilly and Lily (19 total), and 3 PK minutes for Tanev, OEL, McCabe and Benoit (also 19 total each).

This is a balance and depth (and intentionality in role) we have not had in the Shanny era. It also provides a framework for load managing OEL, Tanev and even Rielly and McCabe. Rielly, McCabe, Tanev and Liljegren all averaged more than 19 minutes a night last year.

Hakanpaa, Timmins, Myers and Niemela provide some nice depth and options also with different guys getting the call depending on who is out with injury.

 

[Macallan18]

Or he could be the next Dermott or Sandin. Provided the Leafs get a good return no one is special. One thing about Liljegren is he plays scared. That’s going to limit whatever he does in the game.

He plays scared because of his horrendous coach.
Team coaches/leaders can elevate or destroy people. Having run teams of people on complex transactions I have seen how junior's confidence can be crushed by team leaders.
Keefe was an idiot, both for Lilly and Robertson.
This aspect of coaching in my mind is far more important than all the "systems" they try to implement. Almost any system can work if the players are confident.

How is he not? He’s one of our only defensemen that doesn’t get absolutely shelled every time he steps on the ice. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really sick and tired of watching Morgan Rielly look up to the sky in disbelief after being the root cause for getting scored on every other night. We played some of our best hockey last season with Morgan out and liljegren playing top pair minutes.

for sure, and for all those Lilly haters, just count the number of giveaways by Lilly vs ANY other dman especially Morgan.

 

[Tak7]

Don't know who needs to hear this, but Timothy Liljegren is not going to be the new Strawlman.

 

[thusk]

How is he not? He’s one of our only defensemen that doesn’t get absolutely shelled every time he steps on the ice. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really sick and tired of watching Morgan Rielly look up to the sky in disbelief after being the root cause for getting scored on every other night. We played some of our best hockey last season with Morgan out and liljegren playing top pair minutes.

You get a kind of phenomenon happening when one of your star drop and been injured. Player raise his game up, raise his level of energy to overcome the lost becaus3le they know it will be harder and they will need it to still win. Travis Dermott Was able to the same thing when Muzzin wad injured, thats bot majing him a better D

 

[arso40]

You get a kind of phenomenon happening when one of your star drop and been injured. Player raise his game up, raise his level of energy to overcome the lost becaus3le they know it will be harder and they will need it to still win. Travis Dermott Was able to the same thing when Muzzin wad injured, thats bot majing him a better D

dermott never did that

 

[Sypher04]

I think a new coach will do wonders for Liljegren. I still think we have a 40+ point, two-way, top 4 RHD in there.

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Stralman is the new Liljegren...

 

[ThrowDemTongs]

He looks like Robb Stark

 

[thusk]

dermott never did that

Step up in a top 4 and looking fine, yes he did it.

The biggest difference between a depht player and a real top 4 is not being able to play good hockey in a short period of time, it's being able to do 8t in daily basic, in every kind of situation agains5 every kind of competition.

If you're only considerate a 5-10-15 game strenght where the player around all raises their game to evaluate a player, your evaluation will be pretty weak.

 

[arso40]

Step up in a top 4 and looking fine, yes he did it.

The biggest difference between a depht player and a real top 4 is not being able to play good hockey in a short period of time, it's being able to do 8t in daily basic, in every kind of situation agains5 every kind of competition.

If you're only considerate a 5-10-15 game strenght where the player around all raises their game to evaluate a player, your evaluation will be pretty weak.

when did he successfully do it? maybe my young memory is fading but i dont recall