Liljegren was acquired from the Maple Leafs on Wednesday in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick, a 2026 sixth-round draft pick, and defenceman Matt Benning. He amassed 14 goals and 51 assists in 197 career games with the Maple Leafs and should be afforded plenty more playing time in San Jose.
The 17th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Liljegren had fallen out of favour under new Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube. He appeared in just 1 game this season after playing in 183 regular season games over the last three seasons. He amassed 14 goals and 51 assists in 197 career games with the Maple Leafs and should be afforded plenty more playing time in San Jose.
Liljegren will make his season debut on Wednesday, sending Conor Timmins to the press box as a healthy scratch. The 25-year-old Liljegren tied a career-high last season with 23 points (3G / 20A) in 55 games.
Liljegren completed his third full season with the Maple Leafs in 2023-24 and earned himself a two-year, $6 million contract extension ($3,000,000 AAV) on Monday. The 25-year-old tied his career high in points last season with his three goals, 23 points, 62 SOG and 16 PIMs in 55 games played.
Liljegren will get a chance to play with the Maple Leafs' season on the line on Tuesday after sitting out Game 4 in favour of T.J. Brodie. Liljegren has gone pointless in three games this series, posting a -2 rating.
Liljegren will be replaced by TJ Brodie in the lineup for Game 4. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said that Liljegren has not been 100 percent, which is the reason he's the one coming out to make room for Brodie.
Liljegren was a late scratch on Thursday ahead of game time due to an upper-body injury and is not expected to be out week-to-week but is luckily expected to return before the playoffs. The 24-year-old had been playing exceptionally as of late with six points (1G/5A) in his last seven games while occupying Toronto's top powerplay unit.
Liljegren is a surprise scratch for Thursday's game as the team gave no indications of a potential injury prior to warmups. His absence makes way for the return to Giordano (concussion), and Connor Timmins will likely move up to the top power-play unit in his place.
Liljeren has been producing while eating big minutes on the Maple Leafs' blueline lately, scoring seven points (0G / 7A) in his last six games while averaging 22:31 time-on-ice before his injury. The defenseman was forced to leave Toronto's game vs. Colorado on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury and will miss his second straight contest on Thursday night against the Arizona Coyotes.
Liljeren has been producing while eating big minutes on the Maple Leafs' blueline lately, scoring seven points (0G / 7A) in his last six games while averaging 22:31 time-on-ice after averaging only 17:36 in his previous 10 games. The defenseman was forced to leave Toronto's game vs. Colorado on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury and will be a game-time decision on Tuesday after missing practice.
Liljegren played only 4:49 before falling awkwardly into the boards after getting tangled up with Bruins' forward Brad Marchand. Liljegren left the game with a lower-body injury and the early update from Sheldon Keefe did not sound promising as he will likely "miss significant time." In 10 games this season, Liljegren has one point (0G / 1A), 18 blocks, and six hits.
Liljegren left the Maple Leafs' previous game Saturday after just 11:45 TOI due to an upper-body injury but will play Tuesday vs. Los Angeles. The 24-year-old defenseman has taken a positive stride forward in 2023-24 as he's averaging nearly a minute and a half more than his previous career-high TOI with his 19:12 TOI nightly and has an assist, and five SOG in eight games this season.
