Confirmed with Link: Timothy Liljegren signed to a 2 year extension (AAV of 1.4M)

[Aashir]

Won't complain about that. We don't have the money to lock him in longer. If he pans out...it'll be costly though.

My view is that by then muzzins contract has run out so Liljegrens increase can be from muzzin’s cap

 

[Drew311]

Hm, cannot even lock him a long term deal...

We're not talking about Makar here. He's the type of defenseman who will have to prove it if he wants a long term deal for more money. With the Leafs cap situation you can't sign him for more anyway.

 

[Knies iT]

Great signing. No chance you are going to get him to sign a longer term deal, without significantly increasing the AAV, which at this point we can't afford.

It is 100% affordable given he likely wouldn't exceed a number in the high 3s LT.

If you don't take these risks you'll never get an Ellis/Kadri/etc. sweetheart contract and always pay full value. This is the only recent RFA i'm confident enough in to jump the gun.

Anyways, interested to see if Sandin also gets 2yr. Will make for an insanely busy summer dealing with Matthews, Nylander, Liljegren, and Sandin right after Bunting.

 

[ULF_55]

I think Muzzin's money is gone this year and being allocated in goal or up front

You think Muzzin is being traded?

 

[LeafChief]

Now please trade Holl. He replaces Holl for $600k less (and is a better player).

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Solid deal .. now we can low ball Sandin at 1M per for 2 years .. makes for a better trade piece as he does not have NHL speed but someone will trade for his hands on PP

 

[kb]

Wish it was longer, but that's great we're paying so little to a legit top-4 guy.

Won't complain about that. We don't have the money to lock him in longer. If he pans out...it'll be costly though.

It lines up with the Muzzin contract expiring and the cap rising, so although not ideal, at least it's well planned.

Coming in under Holl makes Holl's grip here a lot more tenuous.

 

[ULF_55]

I want him to be costly. That means he's a legit top 4 dman.

I think you have a lot of company there.

This keeps him away from UFA status until next contract though.

 

[HockeyVirus]

You think Muzzin is being traded?

I made a thread about it on the mains but I think it might make sense if he will waive. Our options

- Move Holl and hope Sandin can play bottom pairing RD. Most likely scenario

- Muzzin gets moved, Sandin competes with Gio for one of the spots on the bottom 2 pairs. This gives Leafs most cap flexibility to make further moves.

- Leafs opt for experience and move Sandin in a blockbuster.

I think moving Muzzin for a draft pick or decent prospect might make the most sense. Free's up nearly 6M in cap space and allows the Leafs to ice 6 good dmen. Would allow them to allocate another 3-4M either in goal or up front.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Good deal!

 

[ULF_55]

I made a thread about it on the mains but I think it might make sense if he will waive. Our options

- Move Holl and hope Sandin can play bottom pairing RD. Most likely scenario

- Muzzin gets moved, Sandin competes with Gio for one of the spots on the bottom 2 pairs. This gives Leafs most cap flexibility to make further moves.

- Leafs opt for experience and move Sandin in a blockbuster.

I think moving Muzzin for a draft pick or decent prospect might make the most sense. Free's up nearly 6M in cap space and allows the Leafs to ice 6 good dmen. Would allow them to allocate another 3-4M either in goal or up front.

Okay, you want him traded.

That is different than expecting him to be traded.

I don't think he's moved.

 

[justashadowof]

That aav is low. I had been looking around at comparables and he seems like he could easily get over $2M aav. For example, Henri Jokiharju in Buffalo makes $2.5M aav.

And of course the timing of this announcement.

 

[ULF_55]

Solid deal .. now we can low ball Sandin at 1M per for 2 years .. makes for a better trade piece as he does not have NHL speed but someone will trade for his hands on PP

You know what is funny, is all the talk we used to get here about "Barb will make him a better skater."

I do think he processes better than some higher paid players on the defense.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Okay, you want him traded.

That is different than expecting him to be traded.

I don't think he's moved.

I said I think he is traded. Of course I am not an insider who knows he will be. I just think, when you look at our cap situation, having Sandin + Holl for ~ 3. 5AAV on the bottom pairing is better value than Muzzin @ 5.6 on IR.

It would mean Campbell walks + Mrazek moved + Muzzin moved = ~9-10M of cap space opened up. If 6-7 million is used on goalies and a vet depth dman, that means the Leafs are in a position to retain Engvall and still add a 2-3 M forward. Or they can go cheap on goalies and add a 5M forward.

IDK, it's just how Dubas has thought in his time here. Who is the best value contract

 

[ACC1224]

Seems reasonable, pretty much what was expected. Those projections of 3 - 4 million a year were a little out of whack.

 

[kb]

I can all but guarantee now that they give Sandin a 1 year deal. A show me deal.

 

[zeke]

It lines up with the Muzzin contract expiring and the cap rising,

And Brodie's too, of course.

Ideally what happens at that point is that Sandin and Lilly are good enough to deserve Brodie and Muzzin's caphits, while Muzzin and Brodie are old enough to take the lower caphits as our vet depth.

 

[Jared Dunn]

Missed opportunity not signing him long-term.

Give Sandin the bridge. Had a chance to get a steal of a contract here.

I'd imagine he and his agent knew any long term deal he signed based on his usage to this point would end up a complete steal sooner than later.

 

[Stephen]

Optimistically I think Liljegren can follow a Rasmus Andersson type career track and be a $4.5 million guy who plays a good top 4 two way game in 2-3 years. So depending on when he pops we might have a bargain on our hands for a short time. Then we have to pay him with money saved moving on from Muzzin Brodie. By then this will be a different team.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Nice. Timmy Lilly stating put for a while. Inthink this will be a real bargain for the next two seasons.

 

[Once]

No idea why Liljegren and co would sign for longer than 2 years. You can't put that management imo. Good deal and allows for more depth/cap flexibility now and in 2 years time.

 

[ULF_55]

Seems reasonable, pretty much what was expected. Those projections of 3 - 4 million a year were a little out of whack.

A big gamble for both sides might have been a 6-8 year $3mm a year deal.

But yes, other than buying that much, too high without term.

 

[Menzinger]

A tidy bit of business for the team.

I'd like to see a bit more from him in tougher minutes before investing bigger dollars. Gives the team some nice breathing space capwise for the next couple seasons too

 

[Fogelhund]

You know what is funny, is all the talk we used to get here about "Barb will make him a better skater."

I do think he processes better than some higher paid players on the defense.

He does process pretty well... most of the time.. until he boxes himself into a panic move. His skating isn't good enough for sure though... I think we owe him one more year, or part of a year, to see what he can do for us, and I hate giving up on D too soon. Maybe then consider a move... perhaps someone will be looking to move a heavier D, with better skating, and defense, where we could afford to give up the offense. Probably a Right hander, seeing as we are short of those.

 

[Nineteen67]

They need D on inexpensive contracts. Good deal.

They need to sign two more.