Liljegren has struggled in camp and with cuts coming and players to sign, he could become a salary-cap casualty.
Timothy Liljegren entered Toronto Maple Leafs training camp last month amid some stiff competition. But by his own admission, things haven't progressed the way he had hoped.
"I mean, I'm working, trying to earn my spot. But it hasn't really gone my way thus far," Liljegren said following practice on Friday, "I'm just trying to work every day."
Liljegren signed a two-year contract worth $6 million back in June, just hours before the defenseman would have been eligible for salary arbitration. The Leafs followed that up by improving their depth at the position, signing veteran defenseman Chris Tanev to a six-year deal worth $27 million. They also added Oliver Ekman-Larsson (four years, $3.5 million per season) and Jani Hakanpaa (one year, $1.47 million).
But as camp continues, Liljegren's place in the lineup seems to be descending.
Last week, Liljegren, who was projected to be the team's sixth defenseman and primarily skating with Simon Benoit, saw his slot move down further as Conor Timmins moved up in his place.
Marshall Rifai, who signed a two-year, one-way extension with the Leafs this summer, has also seen his stock rise.
During practice on Friday, Liljegren swapped in and out with Hakanpaa on the fourth defense pair, suggesting his place within the depth chart has fallen further.
"I don't know. I just haven't really had that much flow in my game," Liljegren said when asked why he feels things haven't gone his way. "I guess. I think it's been okay but not my best hockey."
And that's likely the issue with Liljegren here. With a hefty raise comes bigger expectations of the 25-year-old. After struggling last season to find consistency, he's now learning under a different coach in Craig Berube and a different system.
"Lilly's got to do things quicker. He's got to be a little bit heavier in his battles and move into pucks quicker and simplify the game," Berube said of Liljegren. "He's obviously battling. He wants to be a guy in the lineup every night, and that's great. But sometimes you kind of put too much on your plate, right?
"Simplify the game a little bit more. If I had to say anything, simplify his game a little bit more. And just do your job as a defenseman, killing plays and being heavy."
It's not a ringing endorsement this late in pre-season. The Leafs have one more pre-season game on Saturday at home against the Detroit Red Wings, but Berube declined to reveal if the defenseman would be in the lineup.
The Leafs also have some cap gymnastics to figure out. The club wants to sign both Max Pacioretty and forward Steven Lorentz. But they still may need some camp help. If Liljegren isn't consistently in the lineup, there may be a desire to just move on from the $3 million cap hit.
Of course, there is that one more game and there could be more injuries that might make the math work. But Liljegren is very much on the outside looking in
"You know, like everything can happen, right? So I'm just trying to take it day by day. I know, you know, we got to make some changes. So we'll see where it goes. But I'm just trying to, you know, take it day by day and it works well, I think."
