Five teams reportedly interested in Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren

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Graham Montgomery
October 13, 2024 (11:05 PM)

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The Florida Panthers are among several teams eyeing up Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren according to the latest reports.

Liljegren has been a big disappointment for the Leafs this season as he has seemingly fallen out of favor with the club, despite the fact that he just signed a new two-year extension in June. Unfortunately for the young swede, it appears as though the additions of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman Larsson have left him without a spot on the roster. Even guys like Connor Timmins, who played just 25 games last season, appear to have passed him on the depth chart. Now NHL insider Elliotte Friedman is reporting that the team has given Liljegren permission to speak to other teams, but the team now denies that claim.

With that being said, Liljegren has established himself as a regular every-day NHL player regardless of what the Leafs think. His results on the ice have actually been very solid according to publicly available analytics models and many Leafs fans seem to share this sentiment about him.

Unfortunately though it seems like Liljegren's time in Toronto will inevitably come to an end sometime this season. Now there are reports that the Florida Panthers are among teams interested in trading for the young blueliner.

Having just won a Stanley Cup, the Panthers certainly know a thing or two about how to win. The fact that they have expressed interest should be a signal to Toronto that they might be about to lose this trade. After all, if he ends up in Florida and the team wins another championship, Toronto will be looking like big time losers. Furthermore, other great teams like the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars are also among the teams interested, so regardless of where he ends up, it seems like he has a very good chance of making it further in the playoffs this season than Toronto, assuming he does in fact, get moved.