Tribute Timothy Liljegren Part 3 - Everyone wants Flowers.

[Kazparov]

Lily has looked great. I give a lot of credit to Gio pairing to allow him a chance to shine.

 

[PromisedLand]

Liljgren falling that far looks like a huge miss on a lotta teams. Good for him proving 'em wrong

Thank You Mark Hunter too

 

[Wendelstache]

LOL… always come here for the crazy takes. He plays nothing like Drew Doughty.

Absolutely correct he plays nothing like Drew Doughty ... Lidstrom would be a closer comparison

Kidding aside, do we expect him to keep this level of play throughout the playoffs?

I still get nightmare of Sandin playoff's last year (probably cost us 1-2 games) so lets put the brakes on the hype.

 

[francis246]

Liljgren falling that far looks like a huge miss on a lotta teams. Good for him proving 'em wrong

Liljegren falling had more to do with other guys increasing their draft stock at the time of the draft. Heiskanen had an outstanding U18 and WJC, Makar exploded, Cody Glass went from 27 points to 94 in one season. Brannstrom and Petterson had good years. Nick Suzuki had 100 points in junior that year. Tippett had 44 goals in Junior. A lot of guys just increased their stock, they weren’t necessarily better but just had a better statistics during their draft year.

A lot of people blame the Mono but that wasn’t the only factor. But in the end it’s all about what you do in the NHL. So good on him for proving a lot of teams wrong.

Post automatically merged: May 3, 2022

Absolutely correct he plays nothing like Drew Doughty ... Lidstrom would be a closer comparison

Kidding aside, do we expect him to keep this level of play throughout the playoffs?

I still get nightmare of Sandin playoff's last year (probably cost us 1-2 games) so lets put the brakes on the hype.

I’m not sure and I don’t want to say one way or another because I’ll get called a Liljegren hater. Do I think he should be playing 20+ minutes? Probably not, I think 17 or 18 with an increase in PP time is great. I just don’t want them to put him in situations to fail. Keep his confidence high, give him favourable match ups and let him work his magic in the offensive zone

 

[Hoglund4MvP]

I watch hockey for decades now I know a top pair D when I see one. Lil is on track to be one. Gio is a good mentor for him too will give him all his tricks. Coming up on third pairing for now with Gio is ideal situation for him.

On flip side I don't see a top pair or maybe not even top 4 in Sandin. He's too slow and doesn't have a muzzin build to make up for it. I feel anxious if you tell me Sandin is starting game 2. Lil emergence will allow us to finally pull trigger on the Chychrun deal centered around Sandin in the off season. Imagine future pairing of Chych-Lil. Both same age basically too.

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

One thing which was obvious last night is that Lilly's got some size. He was able to absorb the big runs Tampa was taking, guys were bouncing off of him.

That kind of stability, matched with his skating, hands and vision...we've got a good one. Exactly the kind of young D we all used to covet and wish we had in previous years.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Thank you Keefer for keeping Lily in lineup .. he gives us 2 great defensive pairs with Gio and then Muzzy and Brodie .. we got a chance if you keep these 2 pairs together

 

[supermann_98]

Absolutely correct he plays nothing like Drew Doughty ... Lidstrom would be a closer comparison

Kidding aside, do we expect him to keep this level of play throughout the playoffs?

I still get nightmare of Sandin playoff's last year (probably cost us 1-2 games) so lets put the brakes on the hype.

I do too, but Lily plays nothing like Sandin.

 

[francis246]

I do too, but Lily plays nothing like Sandin.

They both are really good, there will be some that like Sandin’s game more and some that like Liljegren. But I don’t think one is necessarily better IMO. They both have strengths and both have weaknesses. Both had pretty decent rookie years. Best case and most important is they both peak at the same time and stabilize our dcore once we move on from Muzzin and Holl.

I do find it interesting that now all of a sudden Sandin is garbage to some people lol. Shinny new toy effect 100%

 

[therealkoho]

Lily has looked great. I give a lot of credit to Gio pairing to allow him a chance to shine.

Most of the credit goes to the Leaf management for taking their time with him, for not giving in to the ever comical LeaFland outcry to bring him up after his first dozen Marlie games. To allow for his development in the minors after he had an impressive camp 2 years ago. For never getting ahead of themselves in his development. And yes Gio and he compliment each other in a lot of ways, kind of like Gio and TJ for all those years in Calgary.

He looks like he'll develop into an excellent top 4 guy and give the Leafs a lot of quality years.

Only missed his first playoff goal by a red hair

 

[supermann_98]

They both are really good, there will be some that like Sandin’s game more and some that like Liljegren. But I don’t think one is necessarily better IMO. They both have strengths and both have weaknesses. Both had pretty decent rookie years. Best case and most important is they both peak at the same time and stabilize our dcore once we move on from Muzzin and Holl.

I do find it interesting that now all of a sudden Sandin is garbage to some people lol. Shinny new toy effect 100%

In no way do I think Sandin is garbage. His offensive vision, shot, lateral movement, hands, passing ... all well above normal.

I'm not a particular fan of riverboat gambler type defenceman, and that's kinda how I see him play, without the foot speed to recover from turnovers that kinda play can lead to. Duncan Keith ain't Duncan Keith without his skating. Karlsson is a shell of himself after his leg injury.

Either way I agree we will need both him and Lily in the very near future, but barring injury I'm okay with not seeing him in the lineup again until next training camp. Hopefully by then he can add another gear to his straight line speed, but it's been 2 years without any improvement in that area but I'm still hopeful

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I watch hockey for decades now I know a top pair D when I see one. Lil is on track to be one. Gio is a good mentor for him too will give him all his tricks. Coming up on third pairing for now with Gio is ideal situation for him.

On flip side I don't see a top pair or maybe not even top 4 in Sandin. He's too slow and doesn't have a muzzin build to make up for it. I feel anxious if you tell me Sandin is starting game 2. Lil emergence will allow us to finally pull trigger on the Chychrun deal centered around Sandin in the off season. Imagine future pairing of Chych-Lil. Both same age basically too.

This is exactly correct but it will take Leaf fans awhile to understand it .. Sandin can look like a superstar in a slower AHL game against monsters who run him all game long .. his core strength is top of charts and he does not fall down when crunched .. but when game speed picks up to AHL finals level then Sandin's weakness gets exposed and he becomes a puck turnover machine and he gets beat easy in footraces for breakaways .. in NHL playoffs he is an enormous risk to lose da team games every night he plays with same footspeed issues like we all saw last year to Habs .. what a smart GM will do is trade him in a package for Jakob C so we have a strong defense for next 5 years

 

[Tufted Titmouse]

what a smart GM will do is trade him in a package for Jakob C so we have a strong defense for next 5 years

Arizona has scouts too.

This isn't a Sandin thread, but I am not too keen on selling him unless it's a strong win-now move. I think much like Mo, he needs a partner who can let him play his game. His footspeed may keep him from ever being a great top 4 guy, but I also think he has high end offensive potential and I welcome his shot.

I used to think Lilly would make a great partner, but I am starting to think we want Lilly out there far more often than Sandin, and in tougher situations, so that's not a good fit. Not sure what the right fit is moving forward, will need to see what happens with Boosch and Gio.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Too much Sandin slander. Liljegren is great in his own right. No need to tear down our other awesome young Swedish defenseman.

 

[zeke]

Too much Sandin slander. Liljegren is great in his own right. No need to tear down our other awesome young Swedish defenseman.

Exactly.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Arizona has scouts too.

This isn't a Sandin thread, but I am not too keen on selling him unless it's a strong win-now move. I think much like Mo, he needs a partner who can let him play his game. His footspeed may keep him from ever being a great top 4 guy, but I also think he has high end offensive potential and I welcome his shot.

I used to think Lilly would make a great partner, but I am starting to think we want Lilly out there far more often than Sandin, and in tougher situations, so that's not a good fit. Not sure what the right fit is moving forward, will need to see what happens with Boosch and Gio.

We are moving closer to what I see as an optimal .. 2 pairs who can play shutdown D (we have that now) .. 1 pair which has Rielly and/or Sandin partnered with a Lub type .. since Rielly can fly and has more experience and we just signed him he is my choice for da offense minded D on our team for next 5 years .. so that is reason I see a trade .. plus Jakob C would give us BEST defense in entire league .. and Gio may retire at year end although I hear he will play 1 more year

 

[Morgs]

We have two of the best U23 defenseman in the league and we're tearing one down to bring up the other. They play different positions, they have different styles and skillsets. Comparing them is fine, but let's not make another Kadri/Bozak, Marner/Nylander scenario please.

 

[Apotheosis]

Absolutely correct he plays nothing like Drew Doughty ... Lidstrom would be a closer comparison

Kidding aside, do we expect him to keep this level of play throughout the playoffs?

I still get nightmare of Sandin playoff's last year (probably cost us 1-2 games) so lets put the brakes on the hype.

Sandin and Liljegren are very different. Sandin has top tier puck skills that can get him out of danger but if he bobbles the puck, he's not fast enough to make up for it. Liljegren is also a lot better one on one and more physical too while being the better skater. I feel way more comfortable having Lilly out there.

Post automatically merged: May 3, 2022

In no way do I think Sandin is garbage. His offensive vision, shot, lateral movement, hands, passing ... all well above normal.

I'm not a particular fan of riverboat gambler type defenceman, and that's kinda how I see him play, without the foot speed to recover from turnovers that kinda play can lead to. Duncan Keith ain't Duncan Keith without his skating. Karlsson is a shell of himself after his leg injury.

Either way I agree we will need both him and Lily in the very near future, but barring injury I'm okay with not seeing him in the lineup again until next training camp. Hopefully by then he can add another gear to his straight line speed, but it's been 2 years without any improvement in that area but I'm still hopeful

If Sandin EVER adds another gear of speed to his game, the Leafs laugh to the bank. He would have one of the most interesting skillsets of D in the entire league.

 

[Clark4Ever]

He was awesome, especially when you consider it was his first ever NHL playoff game.

 

[AuraSphere]

We have two of the best U23 defenseman in the league and we're tearing one down to bring up the other. They play different positions, they have different styles and skillsets. Comparing them is fine, but let's not make another Kadri/Bozak, Marner/Nylander scenario please.

I'm big on Lily - but comments like these are what make people hate us. I saw someone on the main board say Liljegren is better than Seider for crying out loud. I'm hype for our prospects - but it's delusional to think he's CURRENTLY better than guys like Heiskenen, Makar, Dahlin, Power, Seider and then obviously the abundance of top rated prospects. I do think Liljegren has a bright future and can potentially be a top 2 dman - don't get me wrong, but guys like Seider WILL be franchise level dmen

My only problem with Sandin is that he's too hyped. Let's settle down and let our players develop before we put top pairing title on them. This exact thing happened with Gardiner after his first NHL season and Dermott

 

[Morgs]

I'm big on Lily - but comments like these are what make people hate us. I saw someone on the main board say Liljegren is better than Seider for crying out loud. I'm hype for our prospects - but it's delusional to think he's CURRENTLY better than guys like Heiskenen, Makar, Dahlin, Power, Seider and then obviously the abundance of top rated prospects. I do think Liljegren has a bright future and can potentially be a top 2 dman - don't get me wrong, but guys like Seider WILL be franchise level dmen

My only problem with Sandin is that he's too hyped. Let's settle down and let our players develop before we put top pairing title on them. This exact thing happened with Gardiner after his first NHL season and Dermott

Lol the f***. Don't pull 5 words from my quote and infer something I didn't say.

Not to mention both their numbers are better than Dermotts ever were, Gardiner was a great top-4 defenseman for years, and yes, our guys were so good this year they deserve to be in the conversation with guys like Seider, Heiskanen, Dahlin, etc. Especially if they can not only keep it up, but succeed in top-4/top pair roles (like Liljegren has already done and Sandin hopefully will soon).

 

[AuraSphere]

Lol the f***. Don't pull 5 words from my quote and infer something I didn't say.

Not to mention both their numbers are better than Dermotts ever were, Gardiner was a great top-4 defenseman for years, and yes, our guys were so good this year they deserve to be in the conversation with guys like Seider, Heiskanen, Dahlin, etc. Especially if they can not only keep it up, but succeed in top-4/top pair roles (like Liljegren has already done and Sandin hopefully will soon).

You say dont infer something you didn't say and then continue to say Liljegren/Sandin deserve to be in the conversation with guys like Seider, Heiskanen, Dahlin.

Take off the homer goggles

 

[francis246]

You say dont infer something you didn't say and then continue to say Liljegren/Sandin deserve to be in the conversation with guys like Seider, Heiskanen, Dahlin.

Take off the homer goggles

I think most fans understand where you're coming from. and You've hit it on the head. Those guys you mentioned are just a tier or two above Liljegren and Sandin. It's pretty self explanatory for anyone who watches hockey.

It's also not a slight against them to recognize that.

 

[Gabriel426]

They both are really good, there will be some that like Sandin’s game more and some that like Liljegren. But I don’t think one is necessarily better IMO. They both have strengths and both have weaknesses. Both had pretty decent rookie years. Best case and most important is they both peak at the same time and stabilize our dcore once we move on from Muzzin and Holl.

I do find it interesting that now all of a sudden Sandin is garbage to some people lol. Shinny new toy effect 100%

The thing with Sandin is that his skating and his size will always play a factor in his play. I said it many times during the season that Sandin weakness will lead to opposing teams scoring key goals against the Leafs. Thats something you cant blame Sandin b/c thats who he is as a player.

 

[justloveleafs]

Liljegren like Bunting, so far, gets 1% better almost every game played. Which is pretty darn impressive.

He is a careful guy. Knows deep down his full potential, but doesn't want to look bad out there proving it.

And smart play on his part, he makes one gaffe and most of the city calls him a bust.

At his top end, this guy could be just about anyting out there.

Tough city for hin to become what his top end is. Which is number one D.

In toronto, a city that ran Larry Murphy out of town? Probably 15% than what we see now.

U have to have the hide of a buffalo to play D or goal in Toronto imo.