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

[one2gamble]

An NHL level dman is an upgrade

 

[ChompChomp]

Yet another former first round pick on this team, which is wild.

 

[sampler]

Awesome trade. No guarantee it pans out, but Liljegren is exactly the type of player that this team should be targeting and this is a reasonable cost to pay. My only complaint is we didn’t do it before opening night but possible it wasn’t available then.

I think the lack of development from Thrun is the main reason for the timing. They gave thrun 2 years (1M per) to prove himself, and he has sucked ballz. I think they wanted to see what they have in the first 10 games or so before beginning to fill holes.

This move became a clear need as thrun has struggled, BDE was clearly not ready, Cags and Thompson are not ready for top 4 duty yet, and even ruuta and ferraro have not shown top 4 readiness. As such, the sharks obviously needed a potential top 4 Dman as a low cost, since they arent about to trade good quality assets (1st rounders or top prospects) at this stage of the rebuild.

I know very little of liljegren so Im excited to see what this becomes. if its even half as good as Walman looks, its a big win. I also like the age, as 25 is just entering the prime years, so if it works out very well this year, they can extend him this summer.

Man, I really wanna see this team with Celebrini in the lineup every night.

 

[PeePeeMcGee]

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

2026 6th might as well be magic beans. Basically Liljegren for a 3rd and getting Benning off the team. Fair trade to me. And there's the obvious team need issue.

 

[Hodge]

2026 6th might as well be magic beans. Basically Liljegren for a 3rd and getting Benning off the team. Fair trade to me. And there's the obvious team need issue.

Liljegren can't crack the Leafs lineup and is signed at 3M AAV through 2026. He's a negative value asset IMO. This should have been another Walman special or just wait for some other defenseman to become available. It's not like this guy is anything special.

 

[sampler]

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

I think Benning is the price. 1.25M is not alot, but hes worth a big zero. I wonder if Grier preferred this deal over Liljegren for free.

Paying a 3rd and 6th to rid ourselves of benning's 1.25M next year is not that bad.

Also, I dont know if they Lil' Grin was available for free? He has been quite respectable the last couple years, was a 17th overall pick, and is only 25. I'm sure there are teams out there (Utah?) that would have kicked those tires.

 

[Saskatoon]

We really hate 3rd rounders

 

[PeePeeMcGee]

Liljegren can't crack the Leafs lineup and is signed at 3M AAV through 2026. He's a negative value asset IMO. This should have been another Walman special or just wait for some other defenseman to become available. It's not like this guy is anything special.

Not every GM is going to make a puzzling move like Yzerman did with Walman to be fair.

 

[Hodge]

I think Benning is the price. 1.25M is not alot, but hes worth a big zero. I wonder if Grier preferred this deal over Liljegren for free.

Paying a 3rd and 6th to rid ourselves of benning's 1.25M next year is not that bad.

Also, I dont know if they Lil' Grin was available for free? He has been quite respectable the last couple years, was a 17th overall pick, and is only 25. I'm sure there are teams out there (Utah?) that would have kicked those tires.

Why would we pay a 3rd and 6th round pick to rid ourselves of a fully buriable contract in a season where we're not competing for anything? That makes no sense.

Liljegren has been healthy scratched in 9 of 10 Leafs games this season. They were desperate to get rid of that contract.

 

[TheBigDrunkPanda]

Sweet a new player to complain about and blame the season on!

 

[sampler]

We really hate 3rd rounders

hahaha, we should! Gushkin is the only sharks 3rd rounder to play an NHL game wit hthe sharks (aside from Pielmeier one game, technically Linus karlsson played 4 nhl games) in the last 20 drafts (total of 13 picks) . So, yeah, not a huge value there...

 

[Jargon]

Awesome trade and exactly what we need — a right handed puck moving defenseman. I don’t know if he’s part of the overall future here or not but he fell out of favor with the Leafs and will get all the chances in the world to find his game here. Most importantly, we have a guy other than Walman who can help the Sharks get out of their zone and put Rutta on the 3rd pairing.

I imagine it’s going to be:

Walman - Ceci
Ferraro - Liljegren
Thrun - Rutta

Much happier with that.

Also, man we’re really becoming Team Sweden.

 

[TheBeastCoast]

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.

 

[STL Shark]

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

Because Benning has proven to be a positive value asset, right?

 

[TheBeard]

JESUS, ON THE SAME DAY MY BENNING JERSEY ARRIVES IN THE MAIL??

 

[Hodge]

Walman - Ceci
Ferraro - Liljegren
Mukhamadullin - Rutta

Fixed it for you. Although maybe Lilly is a better fit with Shak.

 

[StanleyCup2035]

Liljegren means Lily branch in Swedish.
The lily is a flowering plant with many meanings, including:

• Purity: White lilies are often used to symbolize purity, commitment, and rebirth (as a 2nd pair RHD)

 

[Hodge]

Because Benning has proven to be a positive value asset, right?

Benning's contract is fully buriable in the AHL and we had no incentive or need to move it. Leafs are a cap strapped contender desperate to offload 2x3M for a guy who's in the press box every night.

 

[Jargon]

Why would we pay a 3rd and 6th round pick to rid ourselves of a fully buriable contract in a season where we're not competing for anything? That makes no sense.

Liljegren has been healthy scratched in 9 of 10 Leafs games this season. They were desperate to get rid of that contract.

You put too much stock in what a fairly young player’s status was with another team. He has a lot of potential but fell out of favor with the Leafs - this can happen and sometimes a change of scenario can really help a player.

These picks will easily be recouped during the deadline if we need them, in the meantime, Celebrini, Smith and co. have a defenseman that can skate the puck out of the zone and make a good first pass instead of tossing the puck in a panic to the other team. It may not work out and he may end up sucking but these picks are easily recouped and it’s a worthy gamble for the type of guy that is a DESPERATE need for this team.

I think Grier continues to kill it.

 

[hohosaregood]

Liljegren adds a lot of flexibility to the lineup. Will be interesting to see how they slot him in. Hope they get the visa done quickly

 

[weastern bias]

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

W trade confirmed

 

[Jargon]

Fixed it for you. Although maybe Lilly is a better fit with Shak.

Yeah, guessing it starts with Shak on the 3rd line like you have it and then he moves up to the 2nd pairing with Liljegren.

I think this is a much nicer looking D though. Particularly when Muhk comes back.

 

[Hodge]

You put too much stock in what a fairly young player’s status was with another team. He has a lot of potential but fell out of favor with the Leafs - this can happen and sometimes a change of scenario can really help a player.

These picks will easily be recouped during the deadline if we need them, in the meantime, Celebrini, Smith and co. have a defenseman that can skate the puck out of the zone and make a good first pass instead of tossing the puck in a panic to the other team. It may not work out and he may end up sucking but these picks are easily recouped and it’s a worthy gamble for the type of guy that is a DESPERATE need for this team.

I think Grier continues to kill it.

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.

 

[Sharkz4Fun]

Because Benning has proven to be a positive value asset, right?

Yea I think this could also be seen as a dump from the Sharks too. Only 1.25m but Benning is absolute dogshit and has no place in the NHL or AHL with this org.

 

[ChompChomp]

Yeah, guessing it starts with Shak on the 3rd line like you have it and then he moves up to the 2nd pairing with Liljegren.

I think this is a much nicer looking D though. Particularly when Muhk comes back.

Yeah I think it won't be long before we see these pairings:

Walman-Ceci
Ferraro-Liljegren
Tupac Shakir - Thompson
7th: Rutta

And then, like you said, eventually:
Walman - Ceci
Pac - Liljregren
Ferraro - Thompson