Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Defenceman Previously Linked to Edmonton Oilers
Moments ago, NHL insiders broke the news that the Toronto Maple Leafs have traded defenceman Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks.
Liljegren is a 25 year old right shot defenceman, and a first round draft pick of the Leafs in 2017. Despite signing him to a 2 year contract for $3M a season in the offseason, Liljegren was blocked by more veteran defenceman the Leafs trusted over him. In exchange for the young defenceman, Toronto will acquire a pair of draft picks and depth defenceman Matt Benning.
The Oilers are in the trade market for a right shot defenceman specifically, and Timothy Liljegren was floated multiple times as an option for Edmonton. He's a younger defenceman on a cheap contract that hadn't been given a fair opportunity for success in Toronto, despite recording great analytical stats in limited ice time. In 197 career games, Liljegren has become a very strong two-way player - the exact type of defender Edmonton is missing. In many ways, Liljegren and Broberg are similar cases.
The Oilers surely had the assets to meet the Leafs' asking price for Liljegren, and according to recent reports, Stan Bowman is aggressively pursuing a trade. The Oilers must not believe that Liljegren is the right fit for them at this moment, and will be pursuing other options now.
Recent reports from Jim Matheson have been connected the Oilers to three veteran defenceman in trade this year: Connor Murphy, Ivan Provorov, and Cam Fowler. There will be other options too, but now with two defence trades in two days, it seems like the floodgates are opening for early season roster moves.
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