Why there might not be room for Timothy Liljegren on the Maple Leafs’ opening roster

What’s good for Conor Timmins could be very bad for Timothy Liljegren.
When training camp started, Liljegren seemed destined to return as the right-side defenceman on the Maple Leafs’ third pair, while Timmins — again — would have been lucky to retain his spot as the extra blueliner.
Now, Timmins — who also shoots right-handed — seems to have played himself into a key role, while Liljegren may have skated himself off the team.
“I feel comfortable,” said Timmins. “I feel like I’m moving my feet well. I’m confident. I like where my game is at.”
It was Timmins who drew in for Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Scotiabank Arena, in a lineup loaded with NHL players. The Leafs finished the pre-season 4-1-1.
“He’s played well, he’s been highly competitive,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said of Timmins. “You’ve got to defend and be competitive and do all the things there that we need. But I like his puck movement. He moves the puck well and sees the ice well.”
Liljegren drew Thursday’s road game in Detroit, in a lineup filled with prospects and players destined for the AHL. He seemed flat-footed.
“I just haven’t really had that much flow in my game,” Liljegren said. “I think it’s been OK, but not my best hockey.”
Last year, general manager Brad Treliving talked up Liljegren as an important piece ready to join the leadership group. His play flatlined, hurt no doubt by injuries.
This pre-season, with a no-nonsense coach in Berube, Liljegren seems to have regressed.
“He’s got to do things quicker,” Berube said of Liljegren. “He’s got to be a little bit heavier in his battles, move the puck quicker and simplify his game. He’s obviously battling, and he wants to be the guy in the lineup every night and that’s great. But sometimes he can kind of put too much on his plate. Simplify the game a little bit more. Just do your job as a defenceman and kill plays.”
Given the Leafs still have more players in camp than jobs available, and Treliving has to get under the NHL’s $88-million (U.S.) salary cap, there is speculation that Liljegren could be on the move.
He’s starting a two-year deal at $3 million per season, a reasonable cap hit for a player with tremendous offensive upside that might make him attractive on the trade market. He can run a power play, but not as a Leaf behind Morgan Rielly and now Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Treliving has to sort out the roster by Monday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Trades, waivers and long-term injured reserve will be part of the equation ahead of Wednesday night’s regular-season opener against the Canadiens in Montreal. It’s worth noting that Jake McCabe has been bothered by an undisclosed injury, while fellow defenceman Jani Hakanpää (knee) hasn’t played a pre-season game.
Still, Liljegren understands he may be the odd man out.
“Anything can happen, right?” said Liljegren. “So I’m just trying to take it day by day. I know we’ve got to make some changes, so we’ll see where it goes.”