The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenceman Timothy Liljegren to a two-year contract worth an average annual value of $3 million per year, the team announced Sunday.

The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman were the first to report the news of Liljegren’s extension.

Toronto pushed the deal to the proverbial 11th hour, minutes before the 5 PM deadline to tender Liljegren a qualifying offer. Liljegren was a restricted free agent and was moments away from becoming an unrestricted free agent.

It was widely reported that the Maple Leafs were open to trading Liljegren before the start of free agency on Monday, but evidently, the team figured it would be best to find a pact that’s beneficial for both parties. Liljegren is still entering his prime at 25 years old and showed signs of growth during the 2023-24 season, recording three goals and 23 points in 55 regular season contests, adding one assist in six playoff games before the Maple Leafs were eliminated by the Boston Bruins.

Liljegren is a homegrown, high-variance talent, who often appears capable of ascending to another gear or two. Toronto controlled 53 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5 when Liljegren was on the ice via Natural Stat Trick, while sporting a plus-four goal differential. He was selected in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Maple Leafs and has quietly become one of the mainstays of the roster.

Ahead of the start of free agency, Toronto’s priorities were to stabilize its defense corps and the team traded for Chris Tanev’s rights on Saturday. Liljegren’s re-signing came as a surprise to most observers, who assumed the Maple Leafs were moving on. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that the Maple Leafs are still interested in pursuing Oliver Ekman-Larsson, while Nikita Zadorov — who has widely been reported as a key target for Toronto and Boston — may prove to be too expensive.

It was a busy day for incumbent Maple Leafs as Max Domi inked a four-year extension, and then celebrated with a little inspiration from Martin Scorsese’s 2013 masterpiece, The Wolf of Wall Street.

Welcome back to Toronto, Timothy Liljegren. The Leafs Nation will have you covered for all your latest developments during free agency.