Are David Kampf and Timothy Liljegren becoming the odd men out in Toronto?
Jonas Siegel of The Athletic: Toronto Maple Leafs center David Kampf has seen his ice-time cut under Craig Berube. Steven Lorentz has become the Leafs go-to defensive forward and has taken PK minutes away from Kampf.
Kampf is averaging under 11 minutes, two and a half minutes less than last season. At $2.4 million, that is pretty costly for what role he’s been used in.
Defenseman Timothy Liljegren doesn’t seem like a fit for coach Berube and management. Teams know this and it kills any leverage the Leafs might have in any trade talks. He’s a $3 million cap hit through next season. He could become a salary dump at some point.
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Liljegren is only 25-years-old and has played just under 200 NHL games. The Leafs might still need him this season as Conor Timmins and Philippe Myers have their limitations as well.
The offseason didn’t present the Leafs with Liljegren trade options that they liked as teams may not have liked what he might have gotten in salary arbitration. You have to wonder why the Leafs decided to spend $3 million on him then and not use that money elsewhere.
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman reported on the weekend that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not trying to rush any Timothy Liljegren trade and are saying he could still play for them. Liljegren is trying to block out all the outside.
“Trying not to think about it, not really on social media that much, so I don’t see a lot of stuff. So if something happens, it happens,” Liljegren told reporters. “I’m just coming in and working hard. I love Toronto, I came over when I was 18 and I’ve been here ever since so I love the city, I love the team and I’m happy to be here.”
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The Maple Leafs will eventually need to move out some salary as they are at the cap and have three players on LTIR – Jani Hakanpaa, Connor Dewar, and Calle Jarnkrok.
