Earlier this week, the Toronto Maple Leafs made a trade with the San Jose Sharks. They moved defenceman Timothy Liljegren for two draft picks and defenceman Matt Benning. Since the summer, the Leafs have been looking for ways to ship Liljegren to another team. The urgency to trade Liljegren escalated once he didn’t make Toronto’s roster out of training camp for opening night. The 25-year-old only played one game for the Leafs this season. He played less than 14 minutes in that game, which is very low for a D-man. He also took a minor penalty in Toronto’s 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Ultimately, head coach Craig Berube isn’t the biggest Liljegren fan and his camp didn’t help his case. Therefore, they traded away their 2017 17th overall pick. However, after making this deal, there is speculation that the Maple Leafs aren’t done on the trade front.
Leafs Could Trade Benning and Others
According to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast, it is believed that there is a possibility that the Maple Leafs could flip Benning in another trade. Despite being recently acquired by Toronto, there might be more to look forward to. Although the Leafs got rid of Liljegren who wasn’t seeing any action, bringing in another defenceman doesn’t solve their surplus of D-men. While their six regular defencemen are in their lineup, two right-handed defencemen are forced to be healthy scratches. Before this trade, the Leafs had a total of over $3M in cap in the press box when Liljegren was around. Now, it’s not so alarming with the scratches they have. Along with Benning, Toronto has Philippe Myers on the outside looking in.
It’s been clear that Leafs general manager Brad Treliving likes to have lots of blueliners. However, this is an interesting situation because. In addition to the two right-handed scratches, another is on the way. Jani Hakanpaa, acquired in free agency, is close to returning to NHL action after suffering a knee injury. The Finnish defenceman was recently sent down to the AHL Marlies on a conditioning stint. He’ll play a couple of games before returning to the NHL, where he will ultimately play in his Maple Leafs debut.
Therefore, given the overload of defencemen, there is the possibility of the Leafs flipping Benning.
More Forwards Than Spots Available
While the Maple Leafs await for Hakanpaa to make his season debut, there are forwards on that waitlist too. Connor Dewar is one of those forwards who are close to returning from injury. He has returned to playing games, however, it’s on a conditioning stint, just like Hakanpaa. Dewar had a great game in his first appearance with the Maple Leafs farm club. He was involved in both goals as he scored a goal and recorded an assist in Toronto’s 4-2 defeat to the Cleveland Monsters. It’s unclear how often Dewar will feature in the Leafs lineup when he returns, given all the depth they have at the moment.
Another forward who is typically a regular in the NHL is Calle Jarnkrok. He’s further away from returning than Dewar is. However, it can’t be ignored that one day he will return and the Leafs need to be ready for that. When all these players are off the LTIR books, there will need to be moves via the waiver wire or trades to clear cap and roster space.
Main Photo Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
