The puzzling media discrediting of Liljegren continues

[saltming]

I don't think it's a Swedish thing but more like a "surplus" thing and who gets voted off the island to bring in the home run championship piece. Marner vs Nylander, Liljegren vs Sandin.

It was tongue and cheek, though it does remind me of the crap salming endured here.
My honest opinion is that it's click bait, but the fact that they are both Swedes is interesting

 

[saltming]

Swedish thing? I've been around since before Hammarstrom and Salming and while there was some of that anti-Euro non-sense around the entire league back then, it disappeared completely from Toronto by no later then the Kings 2nd season. Although I cannot offer you anything other than hyperbole there were a lot of kids suddenly asking for 21 at the start of the hockey season.

The reason people were deriding Willie had nothing to do with his Swedish heritage(although born in Calgary), but everything to do with his long periods of seeming disinterest in winning battles, races, going to dirty areas or finishing checks. How many times did Eakins bench him, or Keefe for that matter even with the Leafs?

Looking for racism when it's not anywhere there to be found reflects on you!

Well I don't believe any of us are a different race so maybe you're reading too much into it? See my above reply.

If anything the flamingo etc was just some addition to the disrespect to the player. The whole trade him for Hayes fiasco comes to mind and from the start, should have drafted Ritchie takes. The disrespect started way before the incidents you're talking about, it happened before he played a single game

 

[Leaf Fans]

To provide a bit of history, there was the bust narrative surrounding Liljegren when it was reported that the LA Kings insisted on Sean Durzi in the Muzzin deal, which came about a year after he slid from a projected top 2-3 position to the teens.

Add to the fact that the Leafs developed him in the minors for a normal length of time for a player of his position and draft ranking, aka not rushing him to the NHL the autumn after the draft, he was seen as late.

Not really sure a guy from msn.com is going to have his pulse on the Leafs, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. The Sportsnet team was very down on him last year, from Bunkis, Bourne, Kypreos, etc. Didn't make sense vs his actual play.

Where is the report? I remember a tweet.

 

[Nineteen67]

He’s only been good for about two months which is understandable with young D.

 

[kb]

Swedish thing? I've been around since before Hammarstrom and Salming and while there was some of that anti-Euro non-sense around the entire league back then, it disappeared completely from Toronto by no later then the Kings 2nd season. Although I cannot offer you anything other than hyperbole there were a lot of kids suddenly asking for 21 at the start of the hockey season.

The reason people were deriding Willie had nothing to do with his Swedish heritage(although born in Calgary), but everything to do with his long periods of seeming disinterest in winning battles, races, going to dirty areas or finishing checks. How many times did Eakins bench him, or Keefe for that matter even with the Leafs?

Looking for racism when it's not anywhere there to be found reflects on you!

I'm just wondering how much his migraines were a root cause of the seemingly disinterested play?

Your body cannot dedicate itself fully to conscious tasks when it's fighting ailments....

He’s only been good for about two months which is understandable with young D.

Ok Hayes, it's been longer than that.

 

[Nineteen67]

How would anyone even find the article?
Who is the writer?

 

[The Iceman]

The author in question says Lily benefits from the continuity of playing with Sandin which i agree.
Nothing really disparaging about Lily by this author IMO.

 

[kb]

The author in question says Lily benefits from the continuity of playing with Sandin which i agree.
Nothing really disparaging about Lily by this author IMO.

I kinda see it the other way around - as no matter who Liljegren plays with, that D seems to get a bump.

 

[IPS]

Ok Hayes, it's been longer than that.

Short memories around here apparantly. Liljegren took a huge step early last year and hasn't looked back since.

Wouldn't even doubt if he turns into a legit top-pairing D by this time next year.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

This thread is good timing with Kloke's profile of Liljegren's development into a solid top four defenseman.

How Liljegren went from uncertain prospect to one of Leafs' most vital defenders in a year

Liljegren's success in 2022 is both a testament to his skill set and a reminder of the importance of patience and regular playing time.

theathletic.com

Now in his second full NHL season, the 23-year-old’s future with the Leafs seems far more secure.

In a year in which the Leafs blue line has been beset by injuries, Liljegren has become one of the team’s most vital and stable defenders.

With Liljegren on the ice at five-on-five, the Leafs have scored 22 goals and allowed only seven goals. That 76 percent goals for percentage is tops among all Leafs blueliners.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I don't really want to do the compare and contrast thing with Liljegren and Sandin, but Liljegren looks more and more confident and I could see him being a less abrasive version of Rasmus Andersson. Similar time table but a 3 year lag time due to age, but the body type, handedness, versatility all looks to be there. Also wouldn't write off the Giordano connection. Think having a former Norris winner impart some defensive wisdom will go a long way towards upping the internal development of the Leaf blueline.

Personally get the Anton Stralman vibe. think he will be a solid #3 dman who is elite in his role for a long time

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

In any event, there will never be a "come to Jesus" moment for all the talking-heads that were unnecessarily impatient with Liljegren's development, jumped on top of every mistake he made in his early Leafs days, and wanted to ship him out for some bottom-pairing veteran scrub who was big. Doubt we'll ever hear anything resembling "this guy sure proved me wrong." I do think the mainstream sports reporters that harped on him have drastically eased up and pay him mild compliments, which is a right sight better than how some of these guys still treat Nylander (looking at you Kyper).

As far as lesser sites like MSN are concerned, you'll always find out there opinions. Won't put too much stock into the opinion of some random writer/blogger.

 

[AvroArrow]

The overdrive guys talked a lot of shit too. As did Colaiacovo

Toronto media has some of the biggest idiots in the hockey world. Kyper, Bourne, Coliacavo, anyone from the Sun not named Terry Koshan

 

[francis246]

Toronto media has some of the biggest idiots in the hockey world. Kyper, Bourne, Coliacavo, anyone from the Sun not named Terry Koshan

there's idiots in every market, hot takes sells. Honestly a lot of these guys are smart, know the game, understand it. But they also understand what will keep them relevant and on the air is stupidity. You don't get a long career in pro sports by not knowing the game.

I think if you get any media member in a candid moment on the street, you'd probably have a decent discussion with them. they have to alter their personalities to keep their jobs and stay relevant in media.

 

[Gabriel426]

Lilly is a much better overall Dman while Sandin will wow us with his hits here and there and his offensive ability but at the same time will make us curse him for his lack of speed and size(esp in front of the net).

The author in question says Lily benefits from the continuity of playing with Sandin which i agree.
Nothing really disparaging about Lily by this author IMO.

Not crediting it all to Lilly but the Leafs D began to play better collectively when Lilly started playing this season.

 

[francis246]

Lilly is a much better overall Dman while Sandin will wow us with his hits here and there and his offensive ability but at the same time will make us curse him for his lack of speed and size(esp in front of the net).


Not crediting it all to Lilly but the Leafs D began to play better collectively when Lilly started playing this season.

I mean we had our 9th defenseman playing, our overall team defense should get better once Lily returns.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Media people have personal biases just like fans do.

I remember when Phaneuf and Gunnarsson were playing together, one of the play-by-play men was insanely one-sided. If Gunnarsson stripped an opposing player of the puck and moved it up, his comment was "Leafs clear the zone", but if the puck happened to bounce off Phaneuf's butt and out, it was "Phaneuf breaks up the play and sends the Leafs on the offence".

It seems Tavares can do no wrong in the Toronto media.

Don Cherry was terrible for it, and Jack Edwards may be the worst ever.

 

[rojac]

Never understood why people care so much about the media’s opinions.

Same here. Can anyone tell me why they care about what the media says about the team or the players?

 

[notDatsyuk]

Must be a Swedish thing. They did it to Willie now to Lilly.
Click bait?

Except for Kampf, the only currently playing Leafs who aren't from North America are Swedes.

If you're going to be xenophobic you don't have much choice.

Same here. Can anyone tell me why they care about what the media says about the team or the players?

Some people would rather rely on other's opinions than think up their own?

 

[stickty111]

This thread is good timing with Kloke's profile of Liljegren's development into a solid top four defenseman.

How Liljegren went from uncertain prospect to one of Leafs' most vital defenders in a year

Liljegren's success in 2022 is both a testament to his skill set and a reminder of the importance of patience and regular playing time.

theathletic.com

A comment in the article reminded me of something. I think during camp last year, Keefe brought up that Chynoweth , Leafs defense and PK coach who was just hired from the Canes said he wanted to take a serious look at Liljegren. Chynoweth even had a lot of praise for Liljegren and wanted a further look at him. Keefe even mentioned that Chynoweth from a far had a keen interest in Liljegren. Liljegren should get a lot of the credit for improving, but I think having Chynoweth helps too. Now Keefe likes Lilly too but another believer helps.

 

[The Iceman]

New article up on The Athletic this afternoon...How Maple Leafs’ Timothy Liljegren went from uncertainty to key NHL defender in a year​

 

[djdev]

the funny things is about people saying sandin is better offensively is that lily has 6 5v5 points in 24 games and sandin has 8 5v5 points in 33 games(hes got 6 assists on the PP)

the narrative that hes better offensively i just dont think holds alot of truth, i think lily is depended on more defensively..but give him a different role and PP time and i think he will blossom offensively..kid was generational offensively as a prospect.

 

[Menzinger]

Some in the media clearly try and overcompensate for not wanting to appear to having a Toronto centric bias, so sometimes guys like Lily pay the price for that by ending up in the firing line.

That said I also really can't stand the Lily vs Sandin stuff. Both guys are Leafs property and in a spot to help the team win for years to come together

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Same here. Can anyone tell me why they care about what the media says about the team or the players?

Probably for similar reasons that you opened and posted in a thread about the media opinions of a player despite claiming you don't care about the topic at all

 

[SprDaVE]

It's a very lazy and common narrative that the Leafs are bad defensively therefore, the defensemen must be bad too.