After a few teams reportedly inquired about Timothy Liljegren, the 25-year-old defenceman is on the move to the San Jose Sharks.

Toronto traded Liljegren in exchange for defenceman Matt Benning, a 2025 3rd-round pick, along with the Sharks’ 2026 sixth-round selection. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports that the Maple Leafs will receive the more favourable of the Edmonton Oilers or Colorado Avalanche’s 2025 third-round picks, which the Sharks currently own.

Here’s our reaction to the Liljegren trade:

Timothy Liljegren is a quality NHL defenceman and will receive a much better opportunity for further playing time with the San Jose Sharks. As recently as a month ago, it seemed that Liljegren had locked down the No. 6 spot for the Maple Leafs, but he was outplayed by Conor Timmins during the preseason, and only played once during the first 10 games, in a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. Jani Hakanpaa will eventually return and this clears space for his eventual season debut, carrying a $1.47 million cap hit.

Liljegren carries a $3 million cap hit for this season and the Leafs receive $1.75 million in cap relief, while receiving a quality depth defenceman in Benning, along with some decent draft capital. And this is the difficult part, as Liljegren is still just 25 years, he’s a great fit for the rebuilding Sharks, who will benefit in some form as he’s played 197 NHL games for a team that mainly had the expectation of contending.

Liljegren clearly wanted greater playing time, and there’s a natural tendency to reflect on what could’ve been from a player the Maple Leafs selected optimistically with the 17th overall pick in 2017. There’s no need to dwell on his tenure with the Maple Leafs either, as he graduated successfully into a useful NHL player through his tenure, but there’s no point in him spending the year often as the odd man out. It seems like a mutually beneficial trade in a lot of ways and Liljegren still has some time to unlock an extra gear or two in the next phase of his career.

Craig Berube certainly values internal competition and the Maple Leafs add to their defensive depth by acquiring Matt Benning, along with some draft capital for the next two summers. This trade settles a few items quickly for the Maple Leafs, namely that Conor Timmins is holding the No. 6 spot, at least until Jani Hakanpaa’s return.

Timmins impressed Berube and the organization throughout training camp, and has played in eight of Toronto’s first ten games. During training camp, it eventually felt like a matter of risk profile, or how Berube would adjust to Timmins’ tendency to take greater risks offensively, but he locked down the No. 6 spot, until Jani Hakanpaa’s return at least, and there continues to be a spirit of competition.

Benning will add to the Maple Leafs’ defensive depth and he can be slotted into the lineup, with a $1.25 million cap hit for the next two seasons, slated to become an unrestricted free agent in 2026. Given that Liljegren played in just one game this season, Brad Treliving did some clever work and now adds a quality NHL veteran of 464 games, while adding some relief and flexibility for Berube to operate with.

Of course, there’s no way to write about this trade without mentioning Liljegren’s $3 million cap hit and when he wasn’t part of the opening day roster, it invited a natural discussion to see where he’d eventually land in his next stop. Liljegren will be an asset to the Sharks, and there’s a pathway to greater playing time, while the Maple Leafs continue to add to their defensive depth, allowing Berube to develop his optimal combinations through the opening quarter of the season.