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It is probably not a coincidence that the Toronto Maple Leafs earned five of six possible points against Boston, Carolina, and Vegas after defenseman Timothy Liljegren returned to the lineup. The 23-year-old blueliner showed signs of being the player the Leafs imagined when they selected him 17th overall in 2017, playing effectively on the right side with Rasmus Sandin and Mark Giordano in the second half last season.
After missing the first 11 games recovering from hernia surgery, head coach Sheldon Keefe immediately inserted Liljegren into the top four with Morgan Rielly. This was in part based on the maturation and progress he showed last season but was also out of necessity after the loss of veteran Jake Muzzin to a neck injury last month.
Inserting the right-handed Liljegren with Rielly allows Keefe to move TJ Brodie to the left side to be the caretaker for giveaway-prone Justin Holl, and for Giordano to the veteran safety net to the still-learning Sandin. The Leafs need for this top-six unit to work until much deeper into the regular season because at some point there will be a clarification of Muzzin’s status.
GM Kyle Dubas will have to address the rather gaping hole left by the absence of the Stanley Cup winner. According to TSN’s Chris Johnston on the Off The Post Radio show (linked below), Dubas will likely look for a blueliner with term to replace Muzzin if he is out for the year, and since the price for rentals like John Klingberg or Matt Dumba will be high and probably close to what a player with years left will cost, going after a player locked up for multiple years would be the first choice.
If Dubas has no choice but to go for a rental, teams like Anaheim (Klingberg), Minnesota (Dumba), Columbus (Vladislav Gavrikov), the NY Islanders (Scott Mayfield) or Arizona (Shayne Gostisbehere) are likely not going to make their rentals available until deeper into the season unless they are overpaid to do so.
The Leafs do not have a safety net on defense. Victor Mete has NHL experience but is someone whose minutes have to be managed to prevent being exposed, Jordie Benn is a fine depth defenseman who can penalty kill and play both sides, but the 35-year-old is not a regular, and Filip Kral needs another year in the AHL to be ready.
That means that a blueline acquisition will not be coming anytime soon.
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