With Sean Durzi expected to be out indefinitely, the Utah Hockey Club desperately needs a defenseman and the Toronto Maple Leafs might have what they're looking for.
After a fantastic sophomore campaign in 2022-23, Durzi was traded by the Los Angeles Kings to the Arizona Coyotes for a second round pick. He tallied a career-high 41 points in 76 contests last year and was expected to carry the load for the Utah Hockey Club in their inaugural season.
Unfortunately, Durzi was injured 4 games into the season and after being placed on the IR, it was announced that he would miss 4-5 months after undergoing surgery. With Utah willing to be more aggressive than their counterparts, they will be perusing the trade market and the Toronto Maple Leafs could be the perfect partner with Timothy Liljegren on the outside looking in.
Cory Wilkins from Clean Hits Hockey broke down why he believes that the Utah Hockey Club should target Liljegren and also why it makes sense for the team to make that move this early in the season:
'His name is already out there, he has not played for Toronto this year, I don't think he was playing too much in the pre-season and I don't believe he's asked for a trade out of Toronto but I think it's come to a point there where he wants. a new opportunity and Toronto is willing to accommodate that... Now I don't know if Toronto is going to give him away but as much as you speak about leverage with Bill Armstrong, I don't think Toronto has a whole lot with Liljegren right now because they're right up against the cap, they only have 400 grand and he's not playing and he makes 3 million dollars. There's not a whole lot of teams that are willing to take a player who makes 3 million dollars and not send some money back but Utah can accommodate that because they got all kinds of cap space and even more when you take out Shea Weber and if you think of a player who can replace Sean Durzi, Timothy Liljegren is kind of one of the perfect players to fit that.'
In a separate article, he also talked about how Utah is also without the services of John Marino who has yet to play this season. They made a recall from their AHL affiliate to fill the void for the time being but they would much prefer a more stable NHL presence at the moment.
While Liljegren hasn't been as formal with his trade request as Nick Robertson was earlier in the summer, it's widely believed that both sides are willing to accommodate a move for the Swedish defenseman. Utah is a great partner for the Leafs because they can absorb the 3 million dollar cap and in return they could offer a second round pick, considering they have three in the 2026 draft.
'The team has three second-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft - its own, plus those of the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers. Offering the expected lowest-ranked of these second-rounders could be a compelling and fair trade package for Toronto, even more so because current Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving does not face the same pressure to retain Liljegren based on his draft status, as he was not chosen under Treliving's tenure.'
Liljegren has found himself to be on the outside looking in with Craig Berube and despite his first round status, he's yet to live up to the expectations. Perhaps a move to Utah could unlock that potential and he could slide in seamlessly considering how similar his game is to Durzi's.
