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Leafs Report Card - Defense : Part V (Liljegren and Rosen)

March 26, 2020, 8:58 PM ET [228 Comments]
Mike Augello
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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The resumption of the NHL regular season and/or the Stanley Cup Playoffs may be in question, but that is not going to prevent us at Hockeybuzz from providing daily content for our readers. We will continue to provide you with updates on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to the season, but we will also report on news specific to the Toronto Maple Leafs and reflect on the club’s season and player performances through 70 games.

Today we complete the evaluations of the Leafs defense with a look at a couple blueliners that played a few games in the New Year:


Timothy Liljegren

The Maple Leafs 2017 top pick showed marked improvement with the Toronto Marlies in his third American Hockey League season, leading their blueline with 30 points (5 goals, 25 assists) in 40 games, but the club held off giving the 20-year-old an opportunity to play in the NHL until mid-January when both Jake Muzzin and Morgan Rielly were out injured.



In contrast with fellow first-rounder and defense partner Rasmus Sandin, Liljegren seemed slightly overwhelmed with the speed of the league at first, but appeared to get more comfortable after a few games. In 11 games, the right-handed Swede had an assist and gave GM Kyle Dubas a preview of whether he can step up and fill a top-six role next season.

Grade - C+


Calle Rosen

After being a key contributor to the Marlies 2018 Calder Cup victory and scoring a career-high 46 points last season, the 26-year-old Swede was sent to Colorado along with Nazem Kadri last July for Tyson Barrie and Alex Kerfoot. Rosen played all but eight games in the AHL this season and was reacquired by Toronto on deadline day for goalie Michael Hutchinson.

Rosen had an assist in four games with the Leafs before the league shut down. Sheldon Keefe’s familiarity with the Swedish blueliner may have been the reason for GM Kyle Dubas bringing him back, but another factor may be his contract with another year left at $750,000, which could provide Toronto an inexpensive depth defenseman capable of playing both the left and right side and special teams next season when their available cap space will be limited.

Grade - C

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