Timothy Liljegren’s former teammates with the Maple Leafs will retain their membership in his fan club.
A trade can be part of National Hockey League business, every player understands, but there was some sadness when news of the Liljegren move to the San Jose Sharks came down early on Wednesday night.
“I’m going to miss him a lot, but that’s the way it goes,” Leafs winger William Nylander said on Thursday morning before Toronto’s optional morning skate at Scotiabank Arena. “It’ll be great for him there to get ice time and play. That’s what everybody wants in the end.
“It’ll be really good for his career. So I’m happy for him.”
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Will dinner be on Nylander, who spoke to Liljegren after the trade was announced, when the Sharks visit the Leafs in March?
“On him,” Nylander said with a smile.
Morgan Rielly had a thought similar to Nylander — that the 25-year-old Liljegren will take advantage of his chance with San Jose.
“It didn’t work out exactly the way that he wanted to this year, I suppose, but you wish him the best,” Rielly said, hours before puck drop between the Leafs and the visiting Seattle Kraken. “He’s a good player. He has a good work ethic. I think he’ll find his way.”
Rielly recently played in his 800th NHL game and, like Liljegren, was a first-round pick by Toronto. Rielly developed the way the organization hoped after he was chosen fifth in 2012. Liljegren, picked 17th overall in 2017, did not.
“It’s challenging,” Rielly said of the tasks that come in a young defenceman’s quest to find a role in the NHL. “I think it’s different for everyone. It takes time. And it’s not easy.
“This kind of thing happens all the time. Just because a player gets traded, that doesn’t mean he’s any less of a player than he was a year before.
“Moving forward, it’s just a new opportunity and a change of scenery. That’s not a judgment on who Timmy is or anything like that. He’s going to be fine.”
Liljegren played in just one game for the Leafs in 2024-25. In return from the Sharks, the Leafs received defenceman Matt Benning, a conditional third-round pick in 2025 and a sixth-round pick in 2026.
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