Trades & Free Agency Thread: 2024-2025 Season Edition

LeafChief

Matthew Knies Enthusiast
Mar 5, 2013
14,659
22,930
Scarborough
This is looking more towards next off-season. Not saying that I think it should happen but just something that popped into my head when looking at next summers UFA crop.

I am wondering if Vegas will be looking to move off of Pietrangelo so that they can re-sign Theodore.

Pietrangelo has a no-trade clause and you would have to imagine that if they are looking to force him out, Toronto is a place he would like to be. If you could get Vegas (or another team) to retain 1-2 million, I would imagine the Leafs would be interested in that. Tavares is very good friends with Pietrangelo and it might entice Tavares to sign an even friendlier deal to make it work. Pietrangelo only has 2 more years left on his deal after this one so it's not like it would be a long term anchor.

Rielly - Pietrangelo
OEL - Tanev

Not a bad looking top 4.
 
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arso40

Registered User
Jun 7, 2022
1,951
1,250
This is looking more towards next off-season. Not saying that I think it should happen but just something that popped into my head when looking at next summers UFA crop.

I am wondering if Vegas will be looking to move off of Pietrangelo so that they can re-sign Theodore.

Pietrangelo has a no-trade clause and you would have to imagine that if they are looking to force him out, Toronto is a place he would like to be. If you could get Vegas (or another team) to retain 1-2 million, I would imagine the Leafs would be interested in that. Tavares is very good friends with Pietrangelo and it might entice Tavares to sign an even friendlier deal to make it work. Pietrangelo only has 2 more years left on his deal after this one so it's not like it would be a long term anchor.

Rielly - Pietrangelo
OEL - Tanev

Not a bad looking top 4.
Or rielly can go
 

sxvnert

Registered User
Nov 23, 2015
12,607
7,729
Honestly would rather have Justin Holl straight up for liljegren (wings retain 400k). Both players have one more year left, Holl was fine in a bottom pairing role and on the pk.
At this point I'm sure both would welcome a change of scenery.

Rielly Tanev
OEL McCabe
Benoit Holl
 

Kiwi

Registered User
Mar 5, 2016
21,627
16,798
The Naki
Honestly would rather have Justin Holl straight up for liljegren (wings retain 400k). Both players have one more year left, Holl was fine in a bottom pairing role and on the pk.
At this point I'm sure both would welcome a change of scenery.

Rielly Tanev
OEL McCabe
Benoit Holl

God no, Liljegren does surprisingly well in a bottom pair sheltered role so I'd rather just keep him than bring Holl back again

I'd only accept Holl back if we're allowed to strap him to Elon's next rocket and fire his ass into space
 

LeafSteel

GO LEAFS GO!!!
Mar 5, 2014
6,099
9,474
Toronto
Honestly would rather have Justin Holl straight up for liljegren (wings retain 400k). Both players have one more year left, Holl was fine in a bottom pairing role and on the pk.
At this point I'm sure both would welcome a change of scenery.

Rielly Tanev
OEL McCabe
Benoit Holl
IMG_3737.jpeg
 

JEI

Jericho
Jun 7, 2004
11,704
676
The hate on Liljegren is mind blowing, Pair him with OEL and let him run. He's going to end up haunting us like Stralman did if we trade him.

Hoping the only reason Timmins is playing is to showcase him because he is not an NHL regular on a Stanley cup contender

I'm wondering this also..
 
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LeafChief

Matthew Knies Enthusiast
Mar 5, 2013
14,659
22,930
Scarborough
The hate on Liljegren is mind blowing, Pair him with OEL and let him run. He's going to end up haunting us like Stralman did if we trade him.

Hoping the only reason Timmins is playing is to showcase him because he is not an NHL regular on a Stanley cup contender
Going into the season I assumed OEL-Liljegren would be a pairing. I'd like to see them give that a chance before moving off from him.
 

hockeywiz542

Registered User
May 26, 2008
16,110
5,154

The Maple Leafs signed Liljegren to a two-year, $6-million contract in the offseason - a deal general manager Brad Treliving may like to have back. The $3-million cap hit could make Liljegren tough to move at this point in the season, when most teams are capped out and still eager to see what they have internally.

Nonetheless, some teams might be inclined to show interest. Rebuilding clubs may be willing to take a look if the price is next to nothing, and there are a few contending teams that could use his services.

Dallas Stars


When everyone is healthy, Nils Lundkvist is Dallas' No. 6 defenseman. The Stars sent a first-round pick to the New York Rangers for the young Swede in 2022, but the investment has not paid off. Lundkvist, 24, is viewed by head coach Peter DeBoer as virtually unplayable during the playoffs. He averaged 4:28 of ice time in 12 postseason games a year ago before he was scratched for Alex Petrovic - a 32-year-old who's played one NHL game in the last five years.

Liljegren could provide some of the same puck-moving skills that the Stars hoped to get out of Lundkvist, but with a bit more defensive reliability. Dallas has $2.4 million in cap space, too, so it can afford Liljegren by optioning a single player to the minors.

Edmonton Oilers


The Oilers desperately need a suitable partner for Darnell Nurse on the No. 2 pairing. Philip Broberg, Cody Ceci, and Vincent Desharnais took turns a year ago, but all three are gone now. Edmonton tried newcomers Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott in that spot in its first two games, and the results were poor - 44.7% five-on-five expected goals share with Dermott, 30.4% with Emberson.

A $9.25-million defenseman like Nurse should be able to elevate a lesser partner, but that just isn't the case, and, while Liljegren is not a proven No. 4 blue-liner, he'd certainly be an upgrade over Dermott or Emberson.

The Oilers only have about $1 million in cap space, so they'd have to create room. But if the losses keep piling up, and a fitting partner for Nurse doesn't emerge, Liljegren could be an option.

Florida Panthers


Would the Maple Leafs even entertain trading Liljegren to a divisional foe? Maybe not. The Panthers are right up against the cap, too, so they'd have to perform some gymnastics in order to afford Liljegren.

However, there's no denying the Panthers' blue line has needs, specifically on the right side. Behind Aaron Ekblad, the depth chart consists of veteran lefties Dmitry Kulikov and Nate Schmidt, who are playing on their off sides, and the offensively gifted but defensively unreliable Adam Boqvist, who was only trusted to play 10:30 on Saturday, even though the team was trailing most of the game.

A trade with Florida still seems unlikely, but never say never.

Los Angeles Kings


Drew Doughty is month-to-month to begin the season while recovering from a fractured ankle suffered in preseason. In the meantime, the right side of Los Angeles' blue line is made up of Jordan Spence, Brandt Clarke, and Kyle Burroughs. Liljegren would be a sizeable upgrade over Burroughs and offers more experience than both Spence and Clarke.

With Doughty's $11-million cap hit on LTIR, the Kings have more than enough money to take on Liljegren's contract while Doughty remains out. They would be over the cap when Doughty returns, but they can kick the can down the road and worry about that later. It's possible other injuries occur between now and then.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are perhaps the most obvious landing spot for Liljegren.
Pittsburgh's president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas was part of the Maple Leafs' front office that drafted the blue-liner, and he was GM of the 2018 Calder Cup-winning Toronto Marlies squad that included Liljegren.

While there admittedly isn't a lot of ice time to go around on the right side of a blue line that boasts Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, Liljegren would be an upgrade over rookie Jack St. Ivany, who's struggled at times in his brief career.

(Cap source: PuckPedia)
(Analytics source: Evolving-Hockey)
 

SprDaVE

Moderator
Sep 20, 2008
53,976
37,300

The Maple Leafs signed Liljegren to a two-year, $6-million contract in the offseason - a deal general manager Brad Treliving may like to have back. The $3-million cap hit could make Liljegren tough to move at this point in the season, when most teams are capped out and still eager to see what they have internally.

Nonetheless, some teams might be inclined to show interest. Rebuilding clubs may be willing to take a look if the price is next to nothing, and there are a few contending teams that could use his services.

Dallas Stars


When everyone is healthy, Nils Lundkvist is Dallas' No. 6 defenseman. The Stars sent a first-round pick to the New York Rangers for the young Swede in 2022, but the investment has not paid off. Lundkvist, 24, is viewed by head coach Peter DeBoer as virtually unplayable during the playoffs. He averaged 4:28 of ice time in 12 postseason games a year ago before he was scratched for Alex Petrovic - a 32-year-old who's played one NHL game in the last five years.

Liljegren could provide some of the same puck-moving skills that the Stars hoped to get out of Lundkvist, but with a bit more defensive reliability. Dallas has $2.4 million in cap space, too, so it can afford Liljegren by optioning a single player to the minors.

Edmonton Oilers


The Oilers desperately need a suitable partner for Darnell Nurse on the No. 2 pairing. Philip Broberg, Cody Ceci, and Vincent Desharnais took turns a year ago, but all three are gone now. Edmonton tried newcomers Ty Emberson and Travis Dermott in that spot in its first two games, and the results were poor - 44.7% five-on-five expected goals share with Dermott, 30.4% with Emberson.

A $9.25-million defenseman like Nurse should be able to elevate a lesser partner, but that just isn't the case, and, while Liljegren is not a proven No. 4 blue-liner, he'd certainly be an upgrade over Dermott or Emberson.

The Oilers only have about $1 million in cap space, so they'd have to create room. But if the losses keep piling up, and a fitting partner for Nurse doesn't emerge, Liljegren could be an option.

Florida Panthers


Would the Maple Leafs even entertain trading Liljegren to a divisional foe? Maybe not. The Panthers are right up against the cap, too, so they'd have to perform some gymnastics in order to afford Liljegren.

However, there's no denying the Panthers' blue line has needs, specifically on the right side. Behind Aaron Ekblad, the depth chart consists of veteran lefties Dmitry Kulikov and Nate Schmidt, who are playing on their off sides, and the offensively gifted but defensively unreliable Adam Boqvist, who was only trusted to play 10:30 on Saturday, even though the team was trailing most of the game.

A trade with Florida still seems unlikely, but never say never.

Los Angeles Kings


Drew Doughty is month-to-month to begin the season while recovering from a fractured ankle suffered in preseason. In the meantime, the right side of Los Angeles' blue line is made up of Jordan Spence, Brandt Clarke, and Kyle Burroughs. Liljegren would be a sizeable upgrade over Burroughs and offers more experience than both Spence and Clarke.

With Doughty's $11-million cap hit on LTIR, the Kings have more than enough money to take on Liljegren's contract while Doughty remains out. They would be over the cap when Doughty returns, but they can kick the can down the road and worry about that later. It's possible other injuries occur between now and then.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins are perhaps the most obvious landing spot for Liljegren.
Pittsburgh's president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas was part of the Maple Leafs' front office that drafted the blue-liner, and he was GM of the 2018 Calder Cup-winning Toronto Marlies squad that included Liljegren.

While there admittedly isn't a lot of ice time to go around on the right side of a blue line that boasts Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, Liljegren would be an upgrade over rookie Jack St. Ivany, who's struggled at times in his brief career.

(Cap source: PuckPedia)
(Analytics source: Evolving-Hockey)

I would very much avoid trading him to a rival like the Panthers.


Kings makes a ton of sense. Pittsburgh also makes some form of sense if they can find cap space. Oilers could work.
 
Last edited:

conFABulator

Registered User
Apr 11, 2021
1,654
1,451
I think McCabe would be a better partner for him at the moment. It would also get McCabe back on his natural side.

Then OEL and Myers
Didn't we see McCabe and Liljegren already not work out, I am not sure of this and haven't looked it up but I think this hasn't worked before.

Couldn't we go...

Reilly Tanev
OEL Liljegren
McCabe Myers (or Timmins or Hakanpaa)

This keeps everyone on the correct side and might allow Liljegren more chance to succeed and learn, either for us or to increase his value.
 

Rare Jewel

Patience
Jan 11, 2007
20,147
4,269
Leaf Land
Didn't we see McCabe and Liljegren already not work out, I am not sure of this and haven't looked it up but I think this hasn't worked before.
It depends on who you ask; some say it doesn't matter who Liljegren is with "he's just bad'. Mostly because they remember him getting pushed over against Boston. Like I said, no one remembers the spell when Rielly was suspended.

But if the way to compensate for or allay any concerns about his lack of aggressivity is to put him with McCabe to start, getting McCabe back on his strong side is also a plus.

It's the best way to use these 8 defencemen, IMO.
 
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Sypher04

Registered User
Jan 20, 2011
12,696
11,506
It depends on who you ask; some say it doesn't matter who Liljegren is with "he's just bad'. Mostly because they remember him getting pushed over against Boston. Like I said, no one remembers the spell when Rielly was suspended.

But if the way to compensate for or allay any concerns about his lack of aggressivity is to put him with McCabe to start, getting McCabe back on his strong side is also a plus.

It's the best way to use these 8 defencemen, IMO.

Makes sense to me. Liljegren is a better D than Timmins and it’s really not close. He should be playing.
 
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seanlinden

Registered User
Apr 28, 2009
25,349
1,769
This is looking more towards next off-season. Not saying that I think it should happen but just something that popped into my head when looking at next summers UFA crop.

I am wondering if Vegas will be looking to move off of Pietrangelo so that they can re-sign Theodore.

Pietrangelo has a no-trade clause and you would have to imagine that if they are looking to force him out, Toronto is a place he would like to be. If you could get Vegas (or another team) to retain 1-2 million, I would imagine the Leafs would be interested in that. Tavares is very good friends with Pietrangelo and it might entice Tavares to sign an even friendlier deal to make it work. Pietrangelo only has 2 more years left on his deal after this one so it's not like it would be a long term anchor.

Rielly - Pietrangelo
OEL - Tanev

Not a bad looking top 4.

Beyond the fact that group wiuld be OLD AF by league standards, it's honestly not a horrible idea.

He has $12.8m in salary remaining after his bonus is paid July 1, getting a non-cap team to retain 15% costs them $2m in real money, and brings his cap hit down to a very managable $7.5m.

To be honest, I might be tempted to do it without retention.
 

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