Confirmed with Link: Sharks acquire Timothy Liljegren from Maple Leafs for Matt Benning, conditional 3rd and 6th

[spintops]

That was before the Leafs signed him to a 2 year $6 million contract and dropped him to 8th on their defensive depth chart. Connor Timmins sucks and he's dressed in 8 more games than Liljegren this season.

Meanwhile the Leafs sign a different old guy to a 5 year contract extension every week -- they were desperate to clear Liljegren's money. I'm just confused as to how this ends with the Sharks sending picks to Toronto rather than the other way around.

So to be clear - When the sharks got Walman as a capdump - It meant he sucked. It doesn't matter if other GMs came out and said they would have been interested, the market spoke and he is a negative player/asset. (your words)

Now that the market is saying Lily had value - He still sucks. GMs don't know what they are talking about this time?

 

[TheBigDrunkPanda]

Liljegren is 25 years old. He is what he is, which is a soft third pair puck mover on a decent team. Anyone expecting significant improvement from what he showed last season is setting themselves up for disappointment.

Dan Boyle wasn’t full time until 25 and he turned out ok

 

[hohosaregood]

Look, Hodge has never been happy in his life. Just let him mope his own instead of getting roped into a semantics argument

 

[TheBigDrunkPanda]

Look, Hodge has never been happy in his life. Just let him mope his own instead of getting roped into a semantics argument

lol off the top rope with the elbow!

 

[Alaskanice]

Grier is finding nice pieces to build on. A lot of guys in their mid 20’s. If this comes together, great times ahead.

 

[Hodge]

So to be clear - When the sharks got Walman as a capdump - It meant he sucked. It doesn't matter if other GMs came out and said they would have been interested, the market spoke and he is a negative player/asset. (your words)

Now that the market is saying Lily had value - He still sucks. GMs don't know what they are talking about this time?

No, I'm just saying that if this is the market price for Liljegren we shouldn't have paid it. He's not a particularly unique or hard to find player type.

 

[hotcabbagesoup]

Struggled with consistency and I think confidence....when he is feeling it though he is really good. Last season he had a stretch where it looked like he turned the corner....then got the yips and struggled making a simple pass. Teams could target him on the forecheck as well. Hope he does well for you guys though.

Tell me more. What are his faults? Do you think he can play 19:00 a night and not crumble?

 

[WSS11]

Read “the Sharks trade Matt Benning”. Stopped there, we won the trade

 

[LeafsFan89]

Leafs fan here. Honestly, Leaf fans were stoked AF when he dropped to 17th OV in his draft year. But, Lilly is soft as butter, makes defensive gaffs all the time. Especially in high pressure situations. There's a reason why TB and BOS would target him. There's a reason why he was scratched for most of the playoffs a few years back when we knocked out TB. His game does not translate to the playoffs. He played nearly 200 NHL games and 150 AHL games. I doubt he can change his game.

But who knows. He wasn't getting top 4 minutes, which is where he would probably have a better chance to succeed (second pair). He can move the puck and it's disappointing that he did not get more chances to quarterback the PP because he has shown glimpses of high end talent on the PP when Rielly was out last year. I hope he turns out for you guys.

 

[spintops]

No, I'm just saying that if this is the market price for Liljegren we shouldn't have paid it. He's not a particularly unique or hard to find player type.

I swear I made the same point about taking Goodrow on for free. BUT "we have infinite capspace for year it doesn't matter, etc etc.

You tell us every day about 3rd rounders have near 0% chance of making the NHL. You would trade late first rounders for average NHL players, but now giving up a third round pick is too rich lo.

 

[sharks_dynasty]

Sharks acquire defenseman Timothy Liljegren from Toronto in exchange for Matt Benning and two draft selections | San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) General Manager Mike Grier announced today that the club has acquired defenseman Timothy Liljegren from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Matt Benning, a 2025 conditional third-round selection, and San Jose’s 2026 sixth-round selection. Toronto...

www.nhl.com

 

[TheBeard]

There's a reason why he was scratched for most of the playoffs a few years back when we knocked out TB.

 

[Hodge]

I swear I made the same point about taking Goodrow on for free. BUT "we have infinite capspace for year it doesn't matter, etc etc.

You tell us every day about 3rd rounders have near 0% chance of making the NHL. You would trade late first rounders for average NHL players, but now giving up a third round pick is too rich lo.

Goodrow cost us nothing. We do have infinite cap space and his contract doesn't matter. Toronto OTOH has $0 cap space and Liljegren's contract was a clear impediment to their roster building considering he isn't in their lineup. Seems like we should have had the leverage to get him straight up for Benning or force them to attach a pick but if not it would have been easy enough to move on and find another deal. It's not about drafting someone with the 3rd but saving that asset for a better trade. Hopefully I'm wrong and Liljegren turns out to be worth it.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Tell me more. What are his faults? Do you think he can play 19:00 a night and not crumble?

He has had issues with consistent play and being prone to bone head mistakes. Also against heavier teams they would absolutely target him on the forecheck. But on the positive his best play he probably ever had was when Rielly went down with an injury and he got thrust into a bigger role and thrived for a short period of time...so it is just if he can tap into that more often. I don't think it was ever going to happen in Toronto honestly but I could see it happening if he is given more rope.

 

[WSS11]

I swear I made the same point about taking Goodrow on for free. BUT "we have infinite capspace for year it doesn't matter, etc etc.

You tell us every day about 3rd rounders have near 0% chance of making the NHL. You would trade late first rounders for average NHL players, but now giving up a third round pick is too rich lo.

Lol. I almost for got about his stance on taking Goodrow and his 3.64x3 cap for free. Yikes

 

[TheBigDrunkPanda]

He has had issues with consistent play and being prone to bone head mistakes. Also against heavier teams they would absolutely target him on the forecheck. But on the positive his best play he probably ever had was when Rielly went down with an injury and he got thrust into a bigger role and thrived for a short period of time...so it is just if he can tap into that more often. I don't think it was ever going to happen in Toronto honestly but I could see it happening if he is given more rope.

Sounds like he needs to be paired with someone who can retrieve pucks and get them to him so he can start the breakout

 

[Jargon]

I get what @Hodge is saying, actually. That whether Liljegren is good or not, the fact that he was benched and the Leafs were actively trying to get rid of him should’ve tanked his value to the point where we shouldn’t have paid any picks to get him. I hear that, but I think there was likely a real market for him so it drove up the price — I’m sure Grier offered the Walman special too.

I also think Grier did want to give Benning a chance elsewhere because Grier is a good dude and cares about players, so he attached Benning to the deal and it likely cost him the 6th.

But again, I think it’s really worth it because we desperately need a guy like him.

 

[Hodge]

Lol. I almost for got about his stance on taking Goodrow and his 3.64x3 cap for free. Yikes

Goodrow has been awesome for us in case you haven't been paying attention.

 

[Star Platinum]

About a week ago, I proposed the Sharks trade a 3rd rounder for Liljegren on the main boards.

I really like this. I think Liljegren is at worst a good third pairing guy but I think he definitely could be our second best defenseman right now. Nothing special but he's something we need desperately right now for a very reasonable price.

Per the Toronto board, his biggest flaw is that he gets muscled out by bigger forwards which caused him to get scratched in the Bruins series. They're not sorry to be shod of him, but then I think most fanbases are extra hard on their own players when they don't meet whatever expectations they had after they were drafted.

Given how bad we are on the right side, it's a worthwhile gamble and it's not like we gave up much.

 

[JoeThorntonsRooster]

That was before the Leafs signed him to a 2 year $6 million contract and dropped him to 8th on their defensive depth chart. Connor Timmins sucks and he's dressed in 8 more games than Liljegren this season.

Meanwhile the Leafs sign a different old guy to a 5 year contract extension every week -- they were desperate to clear Liljegren's money. I'm just confused as to how this ends with the Sharks sending picks to Toronto rather than the other way around.

Right, there’s a fair argument that we might’ve jumped the gun and overpaid on market value given that he’s fallen out of favor. But the player himself has very recently proven he’s top-4 caliber. You don’t need to bet on growth for this to be solid; this is a slam dunk if all he is is the guy he was last year.

No, I'm just saying that if this is the market price for Liljegren we shouldn't have paid it. He's not a particularly unique or hard to find player type.

Where else are you getting a 25 year old RHD who has posted strong results in a top-4 role?

 

[Grinner]

An NHL level puck moving RD is exactly what this team lacked. Of noting else, he can serve as a bridge until we find a more permanent salutation. Offensive one way TD's have done well in San Jose

 

[gaucholoco3]

The 3rd for Liljegren is the exact reason why Ceci will get a 2nd at the deadline.

Half of the league needs a top 4 RD.

Just because the new coach is trying to install a hard nosed identity to the pillow soft Leafs, it doesn’t mean that he is a bad player. He is a competent 6’1” puck moving RD. This is exactly what the Sharks need. It’s ok if he is soft because Ferraro is a perfect partner for him.

 

[Jargon]

Right, there’s a fair argument that we might’ve jumped the gun and overpaid on market value given that he’s fallen out of favor. But the player himself has very recently proven he’s top-4 caliber. You don’t need to bet on growth for this to be solid; this is a slam dunk if all he is is the guy he was last year.



Where else are you getting a 25 year old RHD who has posted strong results in a top-4 role?

The other factor here is that he’s going to get SO many chances to prove himself here and will likely put up decent numbers purely because he’ll be on the power play and etc. So at worst, maybe he becomes a 2nd in a trade when we need a heavier playoff guy, but right now, we badly need this type of player.

 

[karltonian]

Rare Grier L. Toronto should be paying us a draft pick to take on a 2x3M contract for a healthy scratch.

Now I know this is a good trade.

 

[WSS11]

Goodrow has been awesome for us in case you haven't been paying attention.

He’s been a fine addition to the PK but far from “awesome”. Certainly not worth that cap hit and it’s down right hilarious that you take the stance on taking Goodrow for free from a cap strapped Rangers team but then turn around and have this stance on Liljegren. Not going to waste my time going through it again with you though.