Pretty tough to say Liljegren "got his shot" under Berube. Maybe the same way Willy got an actual shot at centre. I feel bad for him. Every time he actually took a step forward he got hurt. Last time he just never got his game back. This year you could tell his confidence was shot, even in his limited minutes.
Liljegren stunk in the playoffs and was constantly scratched when it mattered most. Horrible in front of the net, horrible along the boards, slow with decision making. He's best when there's lots of room on the ice and that rarely happens in the playoffs.
I'm not going to bend over backwards to defend Lilje but there were plenty of times he looked fine -- and there were plenty of moments where his support was atrocious. I always liked his tenacity (I liked Sandin more) but I'm glad he is going somewhere that he can actually shine up top @@chamber32doors
@@chamber32doors Liljegren wasn't great in the playoffs, but he wasn't as awful as you say he is. Also its not like the Leafs ever took the time to develop him and give him steady playing time so that he could find a groove and have a chance at becoming an regular in the lineup. Probably the longest stretch he got as a top 4 Dman was during the beginning of the 2022 season when both Rielly and Brodie were injured and he was given 20+ mins a game until they returned and then he was demoted to 2-3 pairing again.
@@UzumakiNaruto_ I think they gave him chances last season, but not this year. He showed glimmers of becoming the guy they hoped he could be, but it never lasted, I think because of injuries. There were times over he last two season when he played like their best defenceman. But only for short periods of time. I hope he has more success in San Jose.
Remember back whenwe thought we had our D-core (Lily, Sandin, Dermott) set for years??? Oh to be in 2018 and naively hopeful again Also, seeing how many young defense prospects that haven't worked out for the Leafs reallly makes you appreciate Morgan Rielly. A minor miracle he turned out to be a solid top-4 All-Star despite everything!
I like it. Help Lilly out by putting him in a situation where he KNOWS he's getting Ice Time, Leafs clear cap and can burry Benning in the Minors. This is one of those trades that both teams come out of looking pretty damn good.
And they get 2 draft picks who may or may not eventually play for the Leafs. That's where they were at with Lilly, anyway. Can never have too many draft picks.
Liljjegren had a lot of potential, he's shown in stints that's he a solid top four puck moving defenceman. I think his lapses are mental, seems to be playing without confidence. I suspect Keefe is largely to blame, he's failed to develop a single young Leaf defenceman that had potential (Dermott, Sandin, Liljegren, Timmins). I'd wager he puts it together in SJ, given an opportunity to play in the top 4 with a bit of rope.
My head canon is that Dermott spinorama giveaway in Montreal game 6 OT broke something inside of Keefe. The Leafs exclusively got tougher, older D-men after that, and almost refused to trust their young guns in the playoffs.
With Liljegren you are dealing with potential. If the Sharks thinks they can make him reach his potential then its a decent trade for them. Because Liljegrens upside is pretty big. But if they cant make him reach his potential, well...
His "metrics" were great and he might have gotten much more in arbitration. Yah, I know. But I don't think they really had a good choice. Five million for one year would not be better.
Considering Edmunson, Boosh and Brodie all got +3 mil/per yr while being on the wrong side of their primes, I didn't think Liljegren's contract was that bad.
Good trade for both sides possibly. Leaf's always need cap space and he didn't fit in with this team plus got some assets to use. Shark's get a younger defense with upside on a rebuilding team. Good gamble for them. Good for him as well as he will get a chance to kickstart his career.
He is, but on the current leafs d he doesn't have a spot. He and timmens have played about the same level this year, and he is worth 2 mil more this year, so it just becomes not worth it. I doubt he was happy sitting and the management werent happy with his cap hit. He will have better opportunities on san jose and i hope he does good there.
Leafs have had poor development with defenseman there's no one on the roster who can play the development role on ice Muzzin was too old and injured, Cody Cici fringe Defenseman, Holl fringe defenseman, Morgan too much on his plate, injuries, not a true number 1D to that can carry. TJ Brodie is the only guy and he was bouncing from Left to right D like crazy
@@Gl-my8fw this is true. I think this is actually a really good trade for both teams. Benning was on the waivers door anyways and would have been claimed, so to get a young defender with a higher ceiling for him is a big plus. And San Jose basically has an upscaled AHL blueline anyways so he’ll get ice time. And Toronto gets out of a bad contract that will allow them to add more if needed and picks as well. And who knows, maybe Benning will work out.
For those questioning this trade - Berube didn't see potential in him and nether did Keefe, how long are you suppose to wait for him to develop? this trade needed to happen for him and the Leafs.
Didn't see potential?? Berube decided at training camp that he didn't want Liljegren on this team and then played him a grand total of one regular season game before kicking him off the team. I would at least understand it more if he say took half a season to work with Liljegren, gave him some consistent play time like 15-20 mins a game and then decide by the trade deadline that it wasn't working. At least the new coach gave him a shot and it didn't work out so trading him made more sense, but Berube didn't even do that. He didn't like Liljegren's game or something else and that was the end of him here.
A perfect appraisal of Lilly. You nailed it absolutely. It’s also worth remembering that we had Rasmus Sandin along with Liljegren and we let Sandin go and kept Lilly. Which nobody could figure at the time. I hope he finds his game on the West coast. For his sake. He’s looked desperately unhappy here.
I feel the same way. Been watching him grow up within the Leafs organization since he was drafted and it never seemed like he got a fair shake on the team. Hope he flourishes with the Sharks and becomes a decent Dman at least.
Great job, Steve, and THANK YOU. I literally thought this was a money thing for when Calle and Jani were needing to come off of LTIR. And I also hope that Timmy gets his opportunities and succeeds in SJ
Tree managed to turn a Dubalytics Darling who wasn't ripening fast enough into 2 draft picks and a taller, heavier right hand shot who isn't afraid to scrap and is getting 1.5per. What's not to like?
As a Washington Capitals fan, it reminds me of the Rasmus Sandin trade. But I think that Washington did better in acquiring Sandin than San Jose has done in acquiring Liljegren. Still both good trades made by teams at the expense of the Leafs who don't seem to do a good job developing defensemen.
Sandin had a rough first couple of seasons with the Caps but looking better this year. Most D-men take longer to mature so he might be working out soon. Leafs got a really nice pick from that trade so I'd say both teams got what they wanted.
@georgebartlett8576 Yup everyone is very excited about Easton Cowan. He doesn't have the creativity of Marner but you can't deny his skill and passion for the game.
Absolutely crazy that the two Swedish defensemen the Leafs were so high on are no longer in Toronto. Ironically, the smaller one plays like he's 6' 5" for the Caps. I've enjoyed having Sandin on the Caps. He fits in well with that D-corps and is just a joy to watch carry the puck.
Good Luck in San Jose Lilly! It's a damn shame it didn't work out in Toronto. I hope he does well out there. He's gonna get lots of ice time to prove himself I'm sure. I like this trade for both teams. I didn't expect the Leafs to get back two draft picks and a top 6 Dman..but I think they'll still have to clear some cap in order to activate the players from LTIR 🤔 Not sure, but good work Tre 👏 Go Leafs Go!
Good trade for both teams. And, it should be noted that Benning struggled to be a Top-6 d-man on San Jose. He has been benched and healthy scratched a lot in the first 10 games so far this season. And, given the least amount of ice time amongst the 6 d-men when he does play. Our expectations of Benning on the Leafs shouldn't be too high.
Any time you sell off a former 1st round pick who's still young for some magic beans, it's a move to salvage your loss. If he sucked that bad, why would the Leafs pay him $3mil/year on a multi-year deal...?
I think Karlsson didn't work out because they already had Burns. Both players played similar roles and cannibalized each others stats. Just look at the year he had in San Jose after Burns got traded. Why they chose Karlsson over Pavelski in the 2019 offseason will always baffle me. They drastically overpaid and sacrificed an extra pick and the heart and soul of their team in the process.
@@paulthompson8793 If Liljegren can turn into a solid, decent Dman then its probably more than worth a 3rd and a 6th. Sucks that Keefe never really tried to prioritize his development or give him more ice time even when he was playing well.
My thoughts on the trade? We need cap space more than a $3M healthy scratch. Also as a former Flames fan turned leaf, I now have a legitimate motivation to hope the Oilers faceplant other than spite. I’ll take it.
12% of 3rd round picks actually make the NHL. Never replace Liljengren with that. I don't like the trade. As soon as a couple of the d get hurt you will wish you still had him.
I don't know about this, and admittedly, this is the very minute I'm learning about it, but unless this Benning guy is literally a better defenseman than Liljegren, I just instantly don't like it. TF are we gonna do with 6th rounders in the future? We need defenseman, and you can't have too many good defenseman. I don't care what people say about Liljegren, he's absolutely a serviceable defenseman.
Sharks fan. Benning is a great locker room guy. Very physical player. But that was before his hip surgery and extended time off. Since major hip surgery he just hasn't been the same. The picks and salary cap savings are the main wins from this.
Robertson next, He is not a fit and Reaves would be packaged with him not sure what you can get but we need a fouth line guy with grit not just fear factor
Honestly timmy wasn't a bad player. Just not worth 3m. Seemed like the kind of guy that just lacked serious confidence. When he played instinctively he was good. Problem was it didn't happen often.
Hard for a guy to get a groove going when he was always seemingly being looked at as an afterthought. Don't think Keefe ever tried to develop him AT ALL. The only time we ever saw Liljegren in an elevated role for an extended period time was back in the early part of the 2022 season when both Rielly and Brodie were out with injuries and they were forced to give him more ice time as well as bringing in Timmins. He looked pretty good back then playing 20+ mins a night and then when the vets came back he was put back down to his regular role instead of building on a very good stretch of play. The funny thing is the Leafs were hot during that stretch and winning and then when Rielly and Brodie came back they cooled off.
Can we stop saying washed up D like Benning are better than Timmins now? I don't understand why you have this huge blind spot and write him off so quickly. You all clearly don't watch him. 13:30 THATS LITERSLLY TIMMINS YOU BABOON
As a sharks fan, I'm cautiously optimistic. We're a team deep in a rebuild that has a history of loving offensive D men, so this could be a great fit into our coaching structure. Plus, no one is expecting huge plays from our players this year, which gives our Liljegren (sp?) some breathing room to find his footing.
Rooting for him to do well with the Sharks, but at this point its a tossup as to what kind of player he'll become. Maybe he'll finally develop into being a solid Dman that will have a long career in the NHL. Or maybe he'll struggle and eventually go overseas to play or something.
@@Gl-my8fw Im not sure they will, he's got almost 500 career NHL games, it might be a piece they keep and send timmings and myers down... they got options I guess.
@@SchnebsGarage None of these guys are waiver exempt. Timmins and Myers will most certainly get claimed. Even Benning might draw some interest but I don't think he'd be a great loss if he did get claimed since we got Hakanpaa coming back.
"Sheldon, why would you start your worst defenceman in a building you know was going to be this loud..?" "Who was our worst defenceman?" "Justin Holl." "That's your opinion, I guess."
In five years Liljegren will be a top 5 defenseman in the League. This prediction cost me literally nothing to make. Imagine if it were to become true! So Leafy.
I'm a Sharks fan and I've been watching your content for a long time now. I've heard tons of complaints about Liljegren over the years but I'm hopeful he's able to turn into something with more playing time and a change of scenery. It's not as if we are going to be competetitive for the remainder of his contract so if worst case he doesn't pan out, it's not that big of a deal for us. I'm excited for him though
As a Sharks fan, thank you for the insight. It seems like a good trade for both sides. Leafs get to free up cap space and obtain some draft capital. While the sharks get a right handed puck moving defenseman. The cap hit isn't pretty but the sharks have almost 6mil in cap space this season and 36mil next season. I just hope this works out better than Merkley & Addison did.
I'm surprised they were able to unload him without having to give up an asset, but I guess taking back Benning evens that out. Looking at it from a SJ point of view, their right side was Ceci / Rutta / Benning and 22 year old Jack Thompson who's playing on the left? Does Lilly push Rutta down and he slides next to Ferraro? Or do the Sharks go scorched earth and play him top pair minutes with Walman pushing Ceci down? I don't see Lilly slotting next to a developing rookie in Thomas.
I hope he pushes Rutta down, although Warsofsky seems to love the hard play no puck movement of Rutta and Ferraro. But neither guy can pass a puck, let alone shoot it
Bennings is going to get buried in the AHL so that contract is gonna cost em like nothing. Sharks gave up 2 picks and an asset for lily, that's kinda stinky for a D man that can't play D to save himself.
Thompson plays solid for the sharks and took over Benning's spot on the lineup, it was just a matter of time. I like the 3rd dpair of Thrum and Thompson, so the only one i see him coming in for is replacing Rutta. So i take it, he's gonna be paired with Ferraro. Apparently he can't play the Chicago game tonight, so we don't get to see him make his new team debut yet,
Regarding Benning being a rightie and the Leafs currently having an abundance of them, there are 3 advantages of trading for him. First, he gives the Leafs an extra against possible injuries to current players; second it denies the same advantage to other teams making Benning potential trade bait later on (or keep him and trade another rightie) and third, he can be packaged into a bigger deal to get another important piece (or kept and a higher salary player sent to reduce salary cap). I have way, WAY to much time on my hands. LOL
Sharks fan first and leafs enjoyer. I think TOR wins the trade for sure but mostly for the draft capital. Matt Benning was losing his spot to a rookie Jack Thompson that no one saw making the team before camp. Sharks are betting on a guy with some potential, I like it a lot more than Benning doing absolutely nothing for us
I think both teams win, Toronto gets cap space, San Jose off loads a player that likely wouldn't even get claimed on waivers and adds a top 4 defensemen. Yes, average is top 4, almost top pairing in San Jose lol
@@ianhall6614 Just don't expect much, the guy is soft and makes bad defensive choices often, I'm sure playing on the sharks will expose this quite a bit.
THANK GOD!! Good for the Leafs and good for him...I hope he uses this clean start to have many successful seasons...but it was never going to happen in Toronto.
Was sort of surprised at this trade, Liljegren will certainly get plenty of opportunity in san jose (we're just going to rename the team to the Swedish fish at this point). I don't think Benning adds anything to the leafs but maybe you could flip him for something more useful, draft picks & cap space are nice though.
Good. Now what do you think about this? Should the leafs trade Kampf for picks, then put holmberg at 4th line centre to free up the 3rd line wing for Robertson. Then that’s the lineup. Hakkanpa is in with Benoit and we good to go.
Sharks are making moves all over the board. They've got a couple of leafs, and seem to have someone from everywhere. DAMN I'm hyped to see the Sharks do with Lilj
Benning would be a good 7th D to swap with any 6th defenseman if injuries happen. Hope he gets some playing time before the post season so we can see what he’s about!
Been sitting on this trade update from you for like 30mins. Top notch speed on the upload. He's a good player....
Pretty tough to say Liljegren "got his shot" under Berube. Maybe the same way Willy got an actual shot at centre. I feel bad for him. Every time he actually took a step forward he got hurt. Last time he just never got his game back. This year you could tell his confidence was shot, even in his limited minutes.
Liljegren stunk in the playoffs and was constantly scratched when it mattered most. Horrible in front of the net, horrible along the boards, slow with decision making. He's best when there's lots of room on the ice and that rarely happens in the playoffs.
I'm not going to bend over backwards to defend Lilje but there were plenty of times he looked fine -- and there were plenty of moments where his support was atrocious. I always liked his tenacity (I liked Sandin more) but I'm glad he is going somewhere that he can actually shine up top @@chamber32doors
@@jonathanstewart5269 when you suck playing the position, you don't get to play it.
@@chamber32doors
Liljegren wasn't great in the playoffs, but he wasn't as awful as you say he is. Also its not like the Leafs ever took the time to develop him and give him steady playing time so that he could find a groove and have a chance at becoming an regular in the lineup.
Probably the longest stretch he got as a top 4 Dman was during the beginning of the 2022 season when both Rielly and Brodie were injured and he was given 20+ mins a game until they returned and then he was demoted to 2-3 pairing again.
@@UzumakiNaruto_ I think they gave him chances last season, but not this year. He showed glimmers of becoming the guy they hoped he could be, but it never lasted, I think because of injuries. There were times over he last two season when he played like their best defenceman. But only for short periods of time. I hope he has more success in San Jose.
I believe Keefe was his coach on the Marlies when they won the cup....
Thank you for joining! This has been Steve was right
Remember back whenwe thought we had our D-core (Lily, Sandin, Dermott) set for years??? Oh to be in 2018 and naively hopeful again
Also, seeing how many young defense prospects that haven't worked out for the Leafs reallly makes you appreciate Morgan Rielly. A minor miracle he turned out to be a solid top-4 All-Star despite everything!
Sandin is pretty good.
Sandin and Durzi (also a leafs pick) are both great players but just never got a full time role with the Leafs for various reasons
March 3, 2025…Sharks visit the Leafs and Liljegren bags a hat trick
How much money are you willing to put on that? I don't think the guy has scored a hat trick at any level 😂
@@abe1996 he won't get 3 shots
Safest bet all year will be Liljegren scoring at least a point in his first game against the Leafs 💵
@@abe1996 of course it won’t happen. But it’s the Leafiest thing that could happen
Of course. It’s a tradition
Was watching one trade analysis but got notified for the best.
Let’s go was waiting for this to drop!
I like it. Help Lilly out by putting him in a situation where he KNOWS he's getting Ice Time, Leafs clear cap and can burry Benning in the Minors. This is one of those trades that both teams come out of looking pretty damn good.
And they get 2 draft picks who may or may not eventually play for the Leafs. That's where they were at with Lilly, anyway. Can never have too many draft picks.
True, but sixth round picks are like trying to win the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.
Been waiting for this!
Liljjegren had a lot of potential, he's shown in stints that's he a solid top four puck moving defenceman. I think his lapses are mental, seems to be playing without confidence. I suspect Keefe is largely to blame, he's failed to develop a single young Leaf defenceman that had potential (Dermott, Sandin, Liljegren, Timmins). I'd wager he puts it together in SJ, given an opportunity to play in the top 4 with a bit of rope.
My head canon is that Dermott spinorama giveaway in Montreal game 6 OT broke something inside of Keefe.
The Leafs exclusively got tougher, older D-men after that, and almost refused to trust their young guns in the playoffs.
With Liljegren you are dealing with potential. If the Sharks thinks they can make him reach his potential then its a decent trade for them. Because Liljegrens upside is pretty big.
But if they cant make him reach his potential, well...
It's a safe bet either way for Sharks. They got time and cap to spare.
he is going to become a stud with the sharks... i hate this trade
agreed. it's a poor record.
Finally, we've been waiting steve
Think Liljegren may have been the last of the Champion Marlies players to wear the Leaf with the Buds... all gone now
TIL Dicky Clune left the leafs organization this off-season and is with the Ducks as an Assistant Coach
Watching last year's Boston series, it was like rolling the dice every time he was on the ice.
Best possible outcome I suppose but that contract will baffle me for a long time.
His "metrics" were great and he might have gotten much more in arbitration.
Yah, I know.
But I don't think they really had a good choice. Five million for one year would not be better.
IIRC if it went to arbitration, it's untradeable for a year.
They got more for him than if they'd let him walk.
So basically this was asset management
Considering Edmunson, Boosh and Brodie all got +3 mil/per yr while being on the wrong side of their primes, I didn't think Liljegren's contract was that bad.
3 million is the new 1.5 million contract, Unfortunately...LoL
dude I wish he would do Steve's dangits again I miss watching them with my dad
Good trade for both sides possibly. Leaf's always need cap space and he didn't fit in with this team plus got some assets to use. Shark's get a younger defense with upside on a rebuilding team. Good gamble for them. Good for him as well as he will get a chance to kickstart his career.
Excellent video!
I thought Lilly was ok.
He is, but on the current leafs d he doesn't have a spot. He and timmens have played about the same level this year, and he is worth 2 mil more this year, so it just becomes not worth it. I doubt he was happy sitting and the management werent happy with his cap hit. He will have better opportunities on san jose and i hope he does good there.
Nope.
Good trade. Surprised to see a player coming back. Maybe Benning will be a part of a Robertson trade.
Lilly lost almost every board battle. He wasn't clearing the net front and really wasn't putting up points, it's a good trade
Think Benning has been any better? At least Lilly wasn’t throwing pizzas in the middle of the slot.
@infinity-vm4ul it was a cap dump and we were lucky to get more than like a 4th or 5th.
Leafs have had poor development with defenseman there's no one on the roster who can play the development role on ice Muzzin was too old and injured, Cody Cici fringe Defenseman, Holl fringe defenseman, Morgan too much on his plate, injuries, not a true number 1D to that can carry. TJ Brodie is the only guy and he was bouncing from Left to right D like crazy
@@Gl-my8fw this is true. I think this is actually a really good trade for both teams. Benning was on the waivers door anyways and would have been claimed, so to get a young defender with a higher ceiling for him is a big plus. And San Jose basically has an upscaled AHL blueline anyways so he’ll get ice time. And Toronto gets out of a bad contract that will allow them to add more if needed and picks as well. And who knows, maybe Benning will work out.
@@Gl-my8fw...the 3rd might as well be a 4th as it's the Rangers pick.
For those questioning this trade - Berube didn't see potential in him and nether did Keefe, how long are you suppose to wait for him to develop? this trade needed to happen for him and the Leafs.
Didn't see potential?? Berube decided at training camp that he didn't want Liljegren on this team and then played him a grand total of one regular season game before kicking him off the team.
I would at least understand it more if he say took half a season to work with Liljegren, gave him some consistent play time like 15-20 mins a game and then decide by the trade deadline that it wasn't working. At least the new coach gave him a shot and it didn't work out so trading him made more sense, but Berube didn't even do that. He didn't like Liljegren's game or something else and that was the end of him here.
Watching the Professor Hockey Video now for the Sharks fan viewpoint
A perfect appraisal of Lilly. You nailed it absolutely.
It’s also worth remembering that we had Rasmus Sandin along with Liljegren and we let Sandin go and kept Lilly. Which nobody could figure at the time.
I hope he finds his game on the West coast. For his sake. He’s looked desperately unhappy here.
He was a consensus 3rd overall behind Patrick and Hischier at the start of his draft yr
I wish it worked with Liljegren. Kinda sucks following and cheering for a young player for 7 seasons to see it end like this. Thanks lily pad
I feel the same way. Been watching him grow up within the Leafs organization since he was drafted and it never seemed like he got a fair shake on the team. Hope he flourishes with the Sharks and becomes a decent Dman at least.
I’ve been waiting along time to see this happen!!!❤
Great job, Steve, and THANK YOU. I literally thought this was a money thing for when Calle and Jani were needing to come off of LTIR. And I also hope that Timmy gets his opportunities and succeeds in SJ
Leafs trade all their first round picks , as draft capital or as semi developed youngsters for 30+ veterans. This is the road to ruin.
Tree managed to turn a Dubalytics Darling who wasn't ripening fast enough into 2 draft picks and a taller, heavier right hand shot who isn't afraid to scrap and is getting 1.5per. What's not to like?
Tim is going to be a sharks legend
My comment is a joke I hope comes true.
As a Washington Capitals fan, it reminds me of the Rasmus Sandin trade. But I think that Washington did better in acquiring Sandin than San Jose has done in acquiring Liljegren. Still both good trades made by teams at the expense of the Leafs who don't seem to do a good job developing defensemen.
The Leafs did ok with the Sandin trade. Got a draft pick back that they used to draft Easton Cowan.
@@DF-hu1jxso you mean they got lucky to have that opportunity to pick him.
He’s still gotta become a player.
Sandin had a rough first couple of seasons with the Caps but looking better this year. Most D-men take longer to mature so he might be working out soon. Leafs got a really nice pick from that trade so I'd say both teams got what they wanted.
@Oldpucker oh he's a player...he will be the Leafs next Marner...only with some snot....
@georgebartlett8576 Yup everyone is very excited about Easton Cowan. He doesn't have the creativity of Marner but you can't deny his skill and passion for the game.
Good luck to Timothy, was not playing here.
Absolutely crazy that the two Swedish defensemen the Leafs were so high on are no longer in Toronto. Ironically, the smaller one plays like he's 6' 5" for the Caps. I've enjoyed having Sandin on the Caps. He fits in well with that D-corps and is just a joy to watch carry the puck.
I am shocked! Shocked! Well not that shocked.
Good Luck in San Jose Lilly! It's a damn shame it didn't work out in Toronto. I hope he does well out there. He's gonna get lots of ice time to prove himself I'm sure. I like this trade for both teams. I didn't expect the Leafs to get back two draft picks and a top 6 Dman..but I think they'll still have to clear some cap in order to activate the players from LTIR 🤔 Not sure, but good work Tre 👏 Go Leafs Go!
To activate Hakanpaa and Jarnkrok off of the Injury reserve. Based on money two guys would need to be waived. (Hello Matt Benning) and Phillipe Myers.
From a habs fan love this trade for you guys made the best of a bad situation
Good trade for both teams. And, it should be noted that Benning struggled to be a Top-6 d-man on San Jose. He has been benched and healthy scratched a lot in the first 10 games so far this season. And, given the least amount of ice time amongst the 6 d-men when he does play. Our expectations of Benning on the Leafs shouldn't be too high.
I dont think anyone actually expects him to play.
hey. quit being realistic. this is toronto. he will pair with reilly on the cup winning team! 😊
He was a healthy scratch multiple times...on San Jose.
I think we all can agree that 2020-2021 was hard on a lot of player development. It always makes me wonder what could have been.
Any time you sell off a former 1st round pick who's still young for some magic beans, it's a move to salvage your loss. If he sucked that bad, why would the Leafs pay him $3mil/year on a multi-year deal...?
They paid him because he's an asset and they made the right choice. They cashed in on whatever his value is.
@@chamber32doors Yep,,,and you're flippin' the picks at the deadline for depth for the playoffs
Never like the way thet treated him so far as im concerned never gave him a chance i hope he tears it up in San jose
The Sharks tried Erik Karlsson but didn't pan out. Hope Liljegren followed through with what was expected of Karlsson.
I think Karlsson didn't work out because they already had Burns. Both players played similar roles and cannibalized each others stats. Just look at the year he had in San Jose after Burns got traded.
Why they chose Karlsson over Pavelski in the 2019 offseason will always baffle me. They drastically overpaid and sacrificed an extra pick and the heart and soul of their team in the process.
Getting the picks and a player and cap space, not bad
Hahaha did Adam text you to make the video? Lol
Seems low risk high reward for San Jose
Eh, low risk for mid reward maybe, depends if he finds his game again or just does what he has been doing with the leafs, just on a much worse team.
@@paulthompson8793
If Liljegren can turn into a solid, decent Dman then its probably more than worth a 3rd and a 6th. Sucks that Keefe never really tried to prioritize his development or give him more ice time even when he was playing well.
Hoping he can do something. It's worth a flyer given this is the Sharks of all teams....
My thoughts on the trade? We need cap space more than a $3M healthy scratch. Also as a former Flames fan turned leaf, I now have a legitimate motivation to hope the Oilers faceplant other than spite. I’ll take it.
Steve, you are the best!
12% of 3rd round picks actually make the NHL. Never replace Liljengren with that. I don't like the trade. As soon as a couple of the d get hurt you will wish you still had him.
I want to know if he wasn't being played so he could be protected before bring traded or if Berube just liked Timmins game more.
I don't know about this, and admittedly, this is the very minute I'm learning about it, but unless this Benning guy is literally a better defenseman than Liljegren, I just instantly don't like it. TF are we gonna do with 6th rounders in the future? We need defenseman, and you can't have too many good defenseman. I don't care what people say about Liljegren, he's absolutely a serviceable defenseman.
Sharks fan. Benning is a great locker room guy. Very physical player.
But that was before his hip surgery and extended time off.
Since major hip surgery he just hasn't been the same.
The picks and salary cap savings are the main wins from this.
Robertson next, He is not a fit and Reaves would be packaged with him not sure what you can get but we need a fouth line guy with grit not just fear factor
We will take care of him don't worry Steve
Incredibly inconsistent,,,,Lacks intensity,,,Disappears in rough games
Honestly timmy wasn't a bad player. Just not worth 3m. Seemed like the kind of guy that just lacked serious confidence. When he played instinctively he was good. Problem was it didn't happen often.
Hard for a guy to get a groove going when he was always seemingly being looked at as an afterthought. Don't think Keefe ever tried to develop him AT ALL. The only time we ever saw Liljegren in an elevated role for an extended period time was back in the early part of the 2022 season when both Rielly and Brodie were out with injuries and they were forced to give him more ice time as well as bringing in Timmins.
He looked pretty good back then playing 20+ mins a night and then when the vets came back he was put back down to his regular role instead of building on a very good stretch of play. The funny thing is the Leafs were hot during that stretch and winning and then when Rielly and Brodie came back they cooled off.
I miss your Saturday night Leafs games like crazy, btw.
Can we stop saying washed up D like Benning are better than Timmins now? I don't understand why you have this huge blind spot and write him off so quickly. You all clearly don't watch him.
13:30
THATS LITERSLLY TIMMINS YOU BABOON
Gonna miss Lily. Liked him alot. Csnt really defend his progress so guess this is best option
As a sharks fan, I'm cautiously optimistic. We're a team deep in a rebuild that has a history of loving offensive D men, so this could be a great fit into our coaching structure. Plus, no one is expecting huge plays from our players this year, which gives our Liljegren (sp?) some breathing room to find his footing.
Rooting for him to do well with the Sharks, but at this point its a tossup as to what kind of player he'll become. Maybe he'll finally develop into being a solid Dman that will have a long career in the NHL. Or maybe he'll struggle and eventually go overseas to play or something.
Good trade... getting Matt means something to add in future trading
Oh how much ya wanna bet Matt Bennings hip is acting up... .LTIR anyone?
Whatever,,,the 3rd rounder gets flipped at the deadline
He makes 800k.... we can just send him down.
@@Gl-my8fw Im not sure they will, he's got almost 500 career NHL games, it might be a piece they keep and send timmings and myers down... they got options I guess.
@@SchnebsGarage None of these guys are waiver exempt. Timmins and Myers will most certainly get claimed. Even Benning might draw some interest but I don't think he'd be a great loss if he did get claimed since we got Hakanpaa coming back.
@@HoangLe-rc5vb Ya its an odd situation, someones gotta go I was shocked they had a player
coming back in at all.
"Sheldon, why would you start your worst defenceman in a building you know was going to be this loud..?" "Who was our worst defenceman?" "Justin Holl." "That's your opinion, I guess."
Justin Holl was horrible but at least he'd accidentally block a shot once in awhile.
In five years Liljegren will be a top 5 defenseman in the League.
This prediction cost me literally nothing to make. Imagine if it were to become true! So Leafy.
I don't understand why you're always hating on Connor Timmins, I like him.
I'm a Sharks fan and I've been watching your content for a long time now. I've heard tons of complaints about Liljegren over the years but I'm hopeful he's able to turn into something with more playing time and a change of scenery. It's not as if we are going to be competetitive for the remainder of his contract so if worst case he doesn't pan out, it's not that big of a deal for us. I'm excited for him though
As a Sharks fan, thank you for the insight. It seems like a good trade for both sides.
Leafs get to free up cap space and obtain some draft capital. While the sharks get a right handed puck moving defenseman. The cap hit isn't pretty but the sharks have almost 6mil in cap space this season and 36mil next season.
I just hope this works out better than Merkley & Addison did.
I'm surprised they were able to unload him without having to give up an asset, but I guess taking back Benning evens that out.
Looking at it from a SJ point of view, their right side was Ceci / Rutta / Benning and 22 year old Jack Thompson who's playing on the left? Does Lilly push Rutta down and he slides next to Ferraro? Or do the Sharks go scorched earth and play him top pair minutes with Walman pushing Ceci down? I don't see Lilly slotting next to a developing rookie in Thomas.
I hope he pushes Rutta down, although Warsofsky seems to love the hard play no puck movement of Rutta and Ferraro. But neither guy can pass a puck, let alone shoot it
Bennings is going to get buried in the AHL so that contract is gonna cost em like nothing. Sharks gave up 2 picks and an asset for lily, that's kinda stinky for a D man that can't play D to save himself.
From trade rumors this players on leafs may get traded F Nicholas Robertson and RD Conner Timmins and F David Kampf and F Pontus Holmberg
I find it strange how people are acting like 25 is still young. He was drafted 7 years ago and barely plays. He is a depriciating asset.
Watch him take off now!
Thompson plays solid for the sharks and took over Benning's spot on the lineup, it was just a matter of time. I like the 3rd dpair of Thrum and Thompson, so the only one i see him coming in for is replacing Rutta. So i take it, he's gonna be paired with Ferraro. Apparently he can't play the Chicago game tonight, so we don't get to see him make his new team debut yet,
Leafs are quietly accumulating RD. Good strategy as these are valuable trade pieces when needed.
Great when do we get the bag of pucks
Regarding Benning being a rightie and the Leafs currently having an abundance of them, there are 3 advantages of trading for him. First, he gives the Leafs an extra against possible injuries to current players; second it denies the same advantage to other teams making Benning potential trade bait later on (or keep him and trade another rightie) and third, he can be packaged into a bigger deal to get another important piece (or kept and a higher salary player sent to reduce salary cap).
I have way, WAY to much time on my hands. LOL
Sharks fan first and leafs enjoyer.
I think TOR wins the trade for sure but mostly for the draft capital. Matt Benning was losing his spot to a rookie Jack Thompson that no one saw making the team before camp. Sharks are betting on a guy with some potential, I like it a lot more than Benning doing absolutely nothing for us
I think both teams win, Toronto gets cap space, San Jose off loads a player that likely wouldn't even get claimed on waivers and adds a top 4 defensemen. Yes, average is top 4, almost top pairing in San Jose lol
@@ianhall6614 Just don't expect much, the guy is soft and makes bad defensive choices often, I'm sure playing on the sharks will expose this quite a bit.
THANK GOD!! Good for the Leafs and good for him...I hope he uses this clean start to have many successful seasons...but it was never going to happen in Toronto.
Was sort of surprised at this trade, Liljegren will certainly get plenty of opportunity in san jose (we're just going to rename the team to the Swedish fish at this point). I don't think Benning adds anything to the leafs but maybe you could flip him for something more useful, draft picks & cap space are nice though.
Good. Now what do you think about this? Should the leafs trade Kampf for picks, then put holmberg at 4th line centre to free up the 3rd line wing for Robertson. Then that’s the lineup. Hakkanpa is in with Benoit and we good to go.
Obviously liligren is going to become a superstar in SJ it’s always the same story with the leafs
A fresh start is what he needed sorry guys he did not work out in Toronto
Lili is an indictment on the leafs development camp ... they havnt produced good dmen ...like 1 top4 guy in 20 years ? Like cmon
Jake Gardiner erasure but ok
@CrescentCitySweaters they got him from anaheim when he was already 22ish years old
Welp, mark March 3rd 2025 on the calendar people. Sharks are going to win, and he’s going to score a goal. ☠️
Congratulations to Timothy Liljegren and the San Jose Sharks for inevitably winning the cup this year or next year
I like this trade. Good for both teams and Lilly. Wish him the best in NorCal
Decent trade,
But TML has butchered all defensive prospects by not moving off of "their guys" and letting the younger players have legitimate options
I like the trade. Wish him well in the real NHL!
I thought earlier he would have been traded instead of Sandin, but this appears to be a win/win for both teams😀
The guy's left the "fish-bowl" & he'll probably prosper! All the best of good luck to Tim Liljegren @ the San Jose Sharks!
Leafs have had it tough developing defensemen, but seems like their fine with forwards. Very strange.
Never forget the Toronto Maple Leafs know the location of the Lazarus Pit.
Lol I remember when Liljegran was drafted Leafs fan said he’d be the next Erik Karlsson
My Grandma likes Liljegren and hate Benoit... this news is not going to be easy to tell her.
Trade is good for both teams and is good for Liljegren. He finally gets the chance he needs to play an offensive role.
Glad the got a deal done, still sucks though. I remember the hype around him and hoped he would live up to it but maybe he can in San Jose
The Leafs could regret it, they could not. End of the day they’re more committed to Berube and Berube clearly had no use for him.
Little off topic, but where's the Marlie minute host?
Should return for some LFRs.
Giordano and Liljegren played great together when they were paired with one another.
Sharks are making moves all over the board. They've got a couple of leafs, and seem to have someone from everywhere. DAMN I'm hyped to see the Sharks do with Lilj
depth for another draft pick down the line, when injuries start hitting teams
I'd say its 50/50 both teams got a good trade. Sharks have amazing prospects already. Looking for a little spark I guess. Good on em!
I will always remember drafting Liljgrene in NHL and he’d be #1 overall or 2nd
Benning would be a good 7th D to swap with any 6th defenseman if injuries happen. Hope he gets some playing time before the post season so we can see what he’s about!