During their latest 32 Thoughts podcast, Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas discussed Timothy Liljegren‘s situation in Toronto and both agreed that the defenseman has fallen out of favor with the Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube. Saying several defensemen are ahead of Liljegren on the depth chart, his style of play hasn’t meshed with the new coach’s system and Friedman said the Leafs are “pretty actively working on this here” and “they are motivated to see if there’s something that they can do.”
Bukauskas said he thinks back to Berube’s comments before the season about having “big guys on defense” and noted that Liljegren hasn’t given the coach a reason to overlook that preference by the way he’s played. A player like Nick Robertson has found a home in Berube’s system because he’s driving hard and playing bigger. Liljegren plays small. It’s not secret the type of body type and style the new coach prefers.
“For now, he seems to not be on the list of the first six names he calls on defense.” Friedman adds that the Leafs are tight to the cap and if they can make a move, they will.
There is a Challenge as the Leafs Try to Trade Liljegren
Friedman noted that the challenge in trading Liljegren is the same thing that happened with Roberston, “You recognize the talent and you want more for him and other teams are saying, ‘Well, he’s only done this. We don’t want to pay and what you think he can do, we want to pay based on what he’s done.’”
The Leafs aren’t interested in giving away the player and later find out they regret having dumped him for peanuts and he goes out and plays extremely well elsewhere.
Next: The Good, Bad, & Ugly in the Maple Leafs’ 4-2 Win Over Devils
