Liljegren’s situation is so weird to me. He’s obviously good enough to dominate the AHL. Both Dubas and Keene have mentioned giving him NHL time. But he hasn’t gotten any.
Our playoff spot is almost set it stone, why not try him and Sandin as a third pair for a game or two?
Isn’t the issue with Liljigren now tied to the impact of potential (although unreachable) bonus on the cap due to LTIR?
it would be nice if there’s a way to get him in before the playoffs. If not that makes him challenging as an injury replacement.
Actually, I'd like to see him slot in with Muzz and give Holl a few games off. Regardless, it is a head scratcher.
Keefe said a couple days ago the cap has prevented Liljegren from getting games. It's the same issue Habs are having with Caufield and Canucks with Juloevi.
Here is the quote again. I caps locked the parts which are related to this topic.
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.