{"id":444844,"date":"2024-07-05T14:01:59","date_gmt":"2024-07-05T18:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=444844"},"modified":"2024-07-05T14:01:59","modified_gmt":"2024-07-05T18:01:59","slug":"nhl-rumours-toronto-maple-leafs-defender-could-still-be-dealt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/05\/nhl-rumours-toronto-maple-leafs-defender-could-still-be-dealt\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Toronto Maple Leafs Defender Could Still be Dealt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for another round of NHL rumours on this Friday. The initial smoke of free agency has cleared. However, there are still plenty of rumours to discuss. A number of free agents are still out there, but trades can also be made this summer. Just because a player has been signed to a new deal doesn&#8217;t mean they&#8217;re safe from being traded. This latest edition of NHL rumours deals with a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/03\/toronto-maple-leafs-youngsters-that-could-appear-next-season\/\" target=\"_self\">Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> defenceman that could still be on the trade block.<\/p>\n<p>All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.<\/p>\n<h2>NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n<h3>Toronto Maple Leafs Blueliner May be Trade Bait<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: Chris Johnston appeared on the Steve Dangle Podcast Network to discuss some of the latest Maple Leafs news and rumblings. Johnston mentioned that defenceman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/l\/liljeti01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-05_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Timothy Liljegren<\/a> could still possibly be traded.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We&#39;ve got some quick-fire <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Leafs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Leafs<\/a> updates for you. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CJShow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CJShow<\/a><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reporterchris?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@reporterchris<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jkamckenzie?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@jkamckenzie<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/X2yDyQYGE7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/X2yDyQYGE7<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; sdpn (@sdpnsports) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sdpnsports\/status\/1808668315239268629?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> Liljegren did recently sign a two-year contract with an annual cap hit of $3 million per season. However, the blueliner could still be traded. There were initial fears that Leafs General Manager Brad Treliving was going to make a deal before free agency started. However, Liljegren signed that two-year agreement on June 30.<\/p>\n<p>Another young Swedish defenceman<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/5601090\/2024\/06\/29\/timothy-liljegrens-maple-leafs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> had a similar fate<\/a> with the Leafs when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/sandira01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-05_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rasmus Sandin<\/a> was sent to the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/01\/right-shot-defenceman-signs-with-the-washington-capitals\/\" target=\"_self\"> Washington Capitals<\/a>. Sandin wasn&#8217;t able to get sustained minutes and was sent to the American capital city. However, Sandin took advantage of his new opportunity and parlayed it into a five-year deal worth $4.6 million per season.<\/p>\n<h4>Chipping Away<\/h4>\n<p>Toronto is trying to chip away at its massive payroll for the upcoming season. The Leafs will always be a cap team, but trying to forge some extra breathing room is very important for the team. Treliving may want to be able to add a piece at the trade deadline if there&#8217;s a glaring need.<\/p>\n<p>The Maple Leafs did <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/02\/toronto-maple-leafs-sign-defencemen\/\" target=\"_self\">make a few changes<\/a> on their blueliner in adding <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tanevch01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-05_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Tanev<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/e\/ekmanol01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-05_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oliver Ekman-Larsson<\/a>. Tanev was an important part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/04\/assessing-dallas-stars-free-agent-moves\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Stars<\/a> lineup during their push to the Western Conference Final. Ekman-Larsson&#8217;s career in North American was thought to be in some sort of jeopardy after some frustrating years. However, he did find his game with the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/03\/florida-panthers-extend-young-centre\/\" target=\"_self\"> Florida Panthers<\/a> and helped them to a Stanley Cup crown.<\/p>\n<p>Both additions could mean there may not be room for Liljegren to have a bunch of minutes. He may want to seek an opportunity elsewhere the same way Sandin did.<\/p>\n<h4>Not the Only Trade<\/h4>\n<p>We&#8217;ve pretty much talked about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/marnemi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-07-05_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitch Marner<\/a> for days on end in other editions of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/07\/03\/nhl-rumours-toronto-maple-leafs-forward-trade-rumours\/\" target=\"_self\">NHL rumours.<\/a> That seems to be the main trade that Leafs fans want to see. However, a Liljegren trade is still something that could happen.<\/p>\n<p>Toronto doesn&#8217;t want to just run it back when it comes to the team&#8217;s defence at least. Losing young defenders like Liljegren is never a pleasant prospect. However, Toronto may have its hand forced once again. The cap hit may only be $3 million, but every little bit helps in the case of Treliving and the Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main photo by: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for another round of NHL rumours on this Friday. The initial smoke of free agency has cleared. However, there are still plenty of rumours to discuss. A number of free agents are still out there, but trades can also be made this summer. Just because a player has been signed to a new [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":444267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,4547,4548,4321],"tags":[1594,170,924,6127],"class_list":["post-444844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leafs","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-rumours","tag-brad-treliving","tag-oliver-ekman-larsson","tag-timothy-liljegren","tag-toronto-maple-leafs-rumours"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444844","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444844"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444844\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}