Tribute Timothy Liljegren Discussion

[Ciao]

I would like to see what Liljegren could do at the NHL level,

Since we haven't seen him we don't really know, but I think he's a very promising prospect.

 

[nobody]

it is the same as last year ... lily has performance bonuses and rasmus does not ... when you call up a player you have to account for all the bonuses that season, whether earnable or not ... it is the sole reason when amirov signed he took no performance bonuses in his contract to (in his own words) make the route to the nhl easier ..... i suspect if lily could give up those bonuses he would in a heartbeat. it has hurt his opportunities up until now... there is no dislike by keefe involved .. this is a cap issue
maybe someone more familiar can explain it better but there is also something about bonuses and ltir i believe but i am not conversant enough to explain it

If this is true, I think this explanation makes the most sense. We've definitely had much worse options than Lilly but we've seen many inferior players being given chances. I think Timmy has the potential to be a top 4 RHD and fill in admirably into the Holl slot where Holl has been very up and down this year. I think Justin Holl can benefit from getting slightly fewer minutes and much softer matchups on the 3rd pair instead of grinding it out against the top competition with Muzz. Lilly has a great defensive game that is simple and his skating and creativity really allow him to thrive under pressure. Once he is given real opportunities, I would not be at all surprised to see him knock down Holl on the right side.

Next season:

Rielly - Brodie
Muzz - Lilly
Sandin - Holl
Dermott (if we can keep him after the expansion draft)

2 years from now:

Sandin - Brodie
Muzz - Lilly
Dermott - Holl

As much as I love Mo, I'm not sure if we'd be able to afford his services. His leaving definitely would create a hole offensively but I think we have capable guys who can do a half-decent job of filling it on the offensive front and a much better job defensively. Overall I think we lose offense but gain more defensive stability and versatility/ reliability defensively.

 

[stickty111]

Even if the Dreger tweet was true, there was nothing saying the package would be the same. Grundstrom+Durzi +1st vs Grundstrom+Liljegren could be spun as "choosing Durzi over Liljegren".

I mentioned this before but this is what likely happened. Blake asks for Liljegren. Dubas says if you want Liljegren, you need to give me more then just Muzzin. Blake says "alright I will just take Durzi then".
Media spin: Kings preferred Durzi over Liljegren.

Plus Bob said a year ago Liljegren was untouchable. Elliotte said the same thing this deadline.

 

[justloveleafs]

I am hoping. I never see Timothy anywhere, outside of our team.

Moment I saw this guy, I knew.

I saw ryan orielly for an ohl game and said this guy should be top five first round.

I pray Dubas, lets this guy fly.

I love Swedish hockey players. Always have. Liljegren, is my fave prospect still by far.

 

[Lauro]

So next season.

 

[WilliamInLondon]

if the Leafs win tonight, they'll have an 8 point lead over Winnipeg.

I'd start putting both Sandin and Liljegren in. No harm in giving Liljegren NHL experience for next season or this year's playoffs if someone goes down with an injury (someone always does). Not a bad idea to give him sheltered third-pair minutes to accelerate his learning curve

 

[BertCorbeau]

With Bogo out, I'd say it's important to get Lily into a few games to get up to NHL game speed before the playoffs.

 

[justloveleafs]

Well that is three of us. Sheldon.....

 

[Macallan18]

Dreger reported that LA Kings chose Sean Durzi over Liljegren. If people dont understand that, they are not judging Liljegren properly. Liljegren might appear to have little to no upside to many GM's. I personally do not see upside in the way he see's the game.

Dreger is an idiot with no inside information.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

if the Leafs win tonight, they'll have an 8 point lead over Winnipeg.

I'd start putting both Sandin and Liljegren in. No harm in giving Liljegren NHL experience for next season or this year's playoffs if someone goes down with an injury (someone always does). Not a bad idea to give him sheltered third-pair minutes to accelerate his learning curve

I think Leafs have Hutton next up to play on RD or LD if we get another injury. Leafs are highly unlikely going to need Lilj in the playoffs this year, so I doubt they get a chance to give him reps

 

[justloveleafs]

ASININE. I have watched liljegren play extensively

Talent, TOUGH as nails Just doesn't show it off.

GREAT first pass, imho, can skate like the wind

I kinda want them to waive him. Well no, lol, I don't.

I personally love the guy. Heck I was given the unofficial assignment of chaperoning Vincent Damphousse around the maze of temptresses in Toronto

I think I did a pretty credible job So did he.

He fell deep for my girlfriends best friend, gotta give him credit, so did, I. She was beyond hotness.

But she was dating the world champ in squash at the time. Woof, great lady and just, overwhelmingly hot.

No idea what became of her, but she was literally too hot to look at.

I avoided any eye contact with her lol. Otherwise I would just stare.

 

[supermann_98]

Keefe was asked about Lilly today.

Is there something Timothy Liljegren has shown you in practice that you really like?

Keefe: Liljegren, to me, just looks like he is older and more confident — no different than Sandin, who hasn’t played much hockey at all over the last year and a half, and yet he comes in and looks confident and stronger. Just because he is such a young guy, when 18 months pass by, you see a big difference. Liljegren is very much the same.
I think Liljegren had that jump last season in my time with the Marlies. If you look back to the playoff run we had there two seasons ago and then last season, throughout that period of time, Liljegren — who is older than Sandin — had his jump. You saw a noticeable difference in his game physically, and how much stronger he was on the ice. When a period of time like that passes for a young player, it can make a big difference.
We like a lot about Timothy and his development.

His situation is not as clear given that we have some salary cap issues and things like that which, at different times, have made it hard to get him in and get him involved. That doesn’t necessarily say or mean we don’t believe in him as a player.

We will have to look at it and see if there an opportunity to get him involved down the stretch, but we are running out of games here. You have roster considerations and you also have the fact that you are trying to make sure your group is ready to go when the playoffs begin. You have to manage all of these types of things.
Again, in practice today, Lily looks good and confident. You can tell he is maturing.

Basically Keefe admitted salary stuff is making Lilly miss out. That makes me more relaxed on his handling.

Thanks I didn't see that interview. Sounds like they have a plan for him after all but cap constraints won't allow them to work him into the lineup this year.

Any cap junkies know if they can put Bogo on IR since he's out 4 weeks and get Liljegren into a couple games?

 

[PromisedLand]

I am hoping. I never see Timothy anywhere, outside of our team.

Moment I saw this guy, I knew.

I saw ryan orielly for an ohl game and said this guy should be top five first round.

I pray Dubas, lets this guy fly.

I love Swedish hockey players. Always have. Liljegren, is my fave prospect still by far.

Lily could be a 2nd coming of Salming (yea thats how high I am on this guy)

#FreeLiljegren

 

[Legion34]

I’m hoping that Lilly starts to get cycled in over the last 8 games. Try to win against the jets tonight.

then cycle the D throughout the last 8 games to get a night off.

 

[TopCheese]

ASININE. I have watched liljegren play extensively

Talent, TOUGH as nails Just doesn't show it off.

GREAT first pass, imho, can skate like the wind

I kinda want them to waive him. Well no, lol, I don't.

I personally love the guy. Heck I was given the unofficial assignment of chaperoning Vincent Damphousse around the maze of temptresses in Toronto

I think I did a pretty credible job So did he.

He fell deep for my girlfriends best friend, gotta give him credit, so did, I. She was beyond hotness.

But she was dating the world champ in squash at the time. Woof, great lady and just, overwhelmingly hot.

No idea what became of her, but she was literally too hot to look at.

I avoided any eye contact with her lol. Otherwise I would just stare.

We are going to need photo verification of this. As for Liljegren, I think he will be a better version of Holl. Equally solid defensively but Lili has much better offensive instincts

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

Thanks I didn't see that interview. Sounds like they have a plan for him after all but cap constraints won't allow them to work him into the lineup this year.

Any cap junkies know if they can put Bogo on IR since he's out 4 weeks and get Liljegren into a couple games?

Pretty sure they can bring him in even without putting Bogo on LTIR, as Andersen and Hyman are providing enough salary pool relief.

They aren’t bringing Lilj in because they have Dermott and Hutton ahead of him for RD options in situations where they need depth, and there aren’t enough games left to give everyone a look. And I doubt they bring Liljegren in as 7D, just let the kid continue to tear apart the A.

 

[justloveleafs]

Glad to see I am not alone in my love for Lilly. A better versioin of Holl. I can live with that. But I am a LEAF fan, I WANT MORE. wah.

 

[DarkKnight]

Remember all the howling a couple years back when you dare suggested it might take 3-5 years for Lil to stick in the NHL and how that must have meant you hated the kid? If you actually posited he wasn’t ready and said it didn’t mean he wouldn’t be-this was a normal progression for most young -you were whack. #freelil and if you didn’t agree, oh the barrage of arrogant postings.

This is his fourth season post draft and he’s ready. The horror.

 

[Lauro]

Remember all the howling a couple years back when you dare suggested it might take 3-5 years for Lil to stick in the NHL and how that must have meant you hated the kid? If you actually posited he wasn’t ready and said it didn’t mean he wouldn’t be-this was a normal progression for most young -you were whack. #freelil and if you didn’t agree, oh the barrage of arrogant postings.

This is his fourth season post draft and he’s ready. The horror.

Caution! The Liljegren protectors are still in full force.

 

[DarkKnight]

Caution! The Liljegren protectors are still in full force.

I like the kid, he’s progressed really well. It was just hard to have a mature conversation, if you didn’t think he was ready after a year, it somehow became you thought he was a bust. Never any nuance allowed.

 

[Menzinger]

I will say it's definitely hard to get a good reading of how management views Lily for one way or the other.

We'll find out sooner than later either way

 

[stickty111]

The critics have made up stuff that his fans didn't even say.

Fact of the matter is he wasn't as ready as a few suggested, so not sure why those certain few get grouped into the whole.

Lilly has played 141 AHL games which is equilivent to not even 2 AHL seasons, so not sure why the other side is patting themselves on the back for 3-5 years when really it took 2 seasons for him to be ready.

 

[stickty111]

Remember all the howling a couple years back when you dare suggested it might take 3-5 years for Lil to stick in the NHL and how that must have meant you hated the kid? If you actually posited he wasn’t ready and said it didn’t mean he wouldn’t be-this was a normal progression for most young -you were whack. #freelil and if you didn’t agree, oh the barrage of arrogant postings.

This is his fourth season post draft and he’s ready. The horror.

The only howling is coming from you. You are grouping a few of that group and thinks it represents everyone? It's like me saying one over the top Marner fan represents all of them.

 

[justloveleafs]

I mentioned this before but this is what likely happened. Blake asks for Liljegren. Dubas says if you want Liljegren, you need to give me more then just Muzzin. Blake says "alright I will just take Durzi then".
Media spin: Kings preferred Durzi over Liljegren.

Plus Bob said a year ago Liljegren was untouchable. Elliotte said the same thing this deadline.

I HAVE NO LIKE BUTTON. But if I did, this would be a special like from me bro.

 

[DarkKnight]

Next year he hopefully gets a legit chance, so we can finally see what we have here.