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The Toronto Maple Leafs may have struck gold with the selection of defenseman Timothy Liljegren in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft, but the next few weeks will determine if the weekend in Chicago was productive in improving the immediate fortunes of the club.
Liljegren’s remarkable skating ability and offensive instincts could fulfill the Leafs need for a top pairing NHL defenseman, but the 18-year-old blueliner is likely bound for another year in the Swedish Hockey League and his impact on the big club may not be felt until 2018 or 2019.
While Assistant GM Mark Hunter concentrated on the draft, Lou Lamoriello spoke to a number of his colleagues on the draft floor about a deal to upgrade the Toronto roster.
According to the Sun’s
Steve Simmons the Leafs made a substantial offer for Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic, which included forward James van Riemsdyk and their 2018 first round pick, but Hamonic was dealt to the Calgary Flames for a first and a pair of second round picks.
"You never come close to anything unless you get it done. You always try to make a team better. That’s our responsibility, that’s our job.” Lamoriello said on Saturday.
The fit for a deal between the Leafs and Islanders was not perfect. Toronto was willing to trade significant assets to improve their blueline, (including their second leading goal scorer in van Riemsdyk) but was not about to repeat the sins of the past and trade multiple future top picks in a deal (as they did in the Phil Kessel trade eight years ago).
New York was looking to shed Hamonic’s salary after adding $3.5 Million to their payroll in the swap of Ryan Strome for Jordan Eberle and wanted draft picks in return, not van Riemsdyk’s $4.25 Million cap hit.
“As an organization, you have to determine what price you will pay for a player that you think can help you, and that weight effects what philosophy you have.”Lamoriello said. "We're in a process, we're not going to try and jump start anything. We’re going to allow it to take it's course, but if along the way, we can get better without hurting the future, we will do that.”
The fact that the Leafs were involved in discussions for Hamonic acknowledges that their defense corps has to be reinforced and that van Riemsdyk may be used as a trade chip in other deals with teams who have available defensemen.
Lamoriello will need to pull off a trade for defensive help using his depth at forward, otherwise they will have to dip into the free agent pool and there are not many top-four blueline options available on July 1.
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