Timothy Liljegren might be the most polarizing player in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup not named Mitch Marner. Once projected to be a top-3 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, it seemed like the Maple Leafs had themselves a steal when he fell to their selection at 17th overall. By all accounts, his development in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Toronto Marlies went smoothly, but ever since he started getting regular ice time in the NHL in 2021-22, he’s never fully been able to gain the trust of his head coach, especially down the stretch and into the playoffs. He has an opportunity to start fresh with a new coach this season.
Liljegren appeared in two playoff games that year, and once the Leafs acquired Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn at the 2023 trade deadline, his ice time took a noticeable hit. He found himself benched for Justin Holl to start the playoffs and didn’t get much of a chance to maintain his spot in the lineup when he did get his shot. Although he was only benched for one of the seven playoff games this past season, he was routinely trotted out on the bottom pair with Joel Edmundson – another deadline acquisition.
The frustrating part about Liljegren’s game is that it’s so obvious that the signs are there. You’re not talked about as a potential top pick in the draft if you don’t have the tools to complement it, but as we’ve seen in the past with players like Jake Gardiner, the juvenile mistakes are often costly and come at times when the team can’t afford them. So, on one hand, you can understand Sheldon Keefe’s hesitancy to play him in the highest-stakes games of the season, let alone give him meaningful ice time. But on the other hand, Liljegren has proven, albeit in small sample sizes, that he’s a far more effective player when he’s got the trust of his head coach and the ice time to back it up.
One area that will likely work against Liljegren this season is the obstacles on the path to getting ice time in the area that he thrives in the most – offensive zone time and power play minutes. The Leafs will undoubtedly be looking to Morgan Rielly as their primary source for offence on the back end — it appears that they’ll be running the same loaded up top power play unit at least to start the season, but with the “tie goes to the veteran” mentality that new head coach Craig Berube seems to possess, it’s more likely than not that offseason signing Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be second in line for power play minutes.
In fairness to OEL, he does have the resume of a strong power play quarterback to back him up, so it’s not like there’s a square peg in a round hole situation there. But it won’t be easy for Liljegren to get those power play minutes despite the numbers working in his favour on that front.
Last season, when Rielly was suspended for his cross-check on Ridly Greig, Liljegren stepped into the role of power play quarterback and played undoubtedly his best hockey of the season. He had seven assists in a four-game span (Feb. 15-21) including three on the power play, and had 14 points in 17 games starting with the first day of Rielly’s suspension. During this time, he averaged 20:49 of time-on-ice (TOI), compared to an average TOI of 18:54 in the first half of the season. This supports the notion that he needs to play more often to get the best version of him out, but needless to say, it’s going to be arguably a tougher path to proving his worth to the organization, especially with a new contract under his belt.
The expectation — Earn Berube’s trust defensively
If preseason pairings were any indication of how Liljegren will be used to start the season, it seems like he’ll be used on the bottom pair alongside Simon Benoit, with Rielly and Chris Tanev on the top pair and Ekman-Larsson with Jake McCabe on the second pair. We haven’t even mentioned the presence of Jani Hakanpaa, who could be starting the season on the injured reserve and will certainly get some ice time once he’s fully healthy.
All of this is to say that Liljegren won’t be handed ice time on a platter. He’ll need to show his new coach that he can be trusted in a bottom pairing role and on the penalty kill. He put on some muscle over the offseason, now standing at 6-foot-1 and 201 pounds, which he said will ideally help him from a cardio standpoint and should ensure he isn’t pushed off of the puck as easily as he has been in the past. If he can show Berube that he can be trusted in that aspect of the game, he’ll likely be called upon for some more offensive opportunities when the situation calls for them.
The goal — Finally have that offensive breakout season
As I alluded to above, good defensive play will lead to offensive opportunities. It’s worth remembering that Liljegren wasn’t drafted for his defensive abilities. He’s a puck-mover with power play instincts and a right-shot that can be valuable to the team on the blue line. And if he can earn Berube’s trust defensively, who knows? It could lead to more ice time for him and more opportunities to thrive doing what he does best. He hasn’t eclipsed 23 points in his career (granted, he only played in 56 regular season games last season which put him on pace for roughly 30-35 points), but if he can stay healthy all year and force his way into those opportunities, a 40+ point season and a secondary supplier of offence from the back end would pay off in dividends for all parties.
In a perfect world for both Liljegren and the Leafs, he eventually becomes that reliable, two-way puck mover that the team covets so much. But this isn’t a rebuilding team. He’s not going to get those opportunities like, say, Rielly did early in his career. He’s going to have to force his way there, and if he can finish the season as a guy who’s relied on for play at both ends of the ice, that will be the best case scenario for everybody involved.
