The San Jose Sharks announced yesterday that they’ve acquired defenseman Timothy Liljegren from the Toronto Maple Leafs, in exchange for Matt Benning, a third-round pick in 2025, and a sixth-round pick in 2026.
Liljegren is 25 years old, and was originally selected 17th overall by Toronto in 2017. The defenseman played 197 career games with the Leafs over parts of six NHL seasons, but had drawn into just one game with the team so far this year. Liljegren still has another season on his contract, expiring in 2026, at a $3 million cap hit.
Benning, on the other hand, is 30 years old, and was added by San Jose in free agency back in 2022. He suited up for 98 total games with the Sharks, including seven this season, and his contract ($1.25M cap hit) will also expire in 2026.
It’s a pretty low-risk trade, where the Sharks are hoping a change of scenery can spark Liljegren. He's a good skater who can control the puck and be impactful offensively, managing 23 points in 55 games last year. At the same time, he's often far too soft on the puck in battles, leading to him not always being overly effective in his own end.
There’s a chance Liljegren can put it all together with a bigger opportunity in San Jose, and turn into the defenseman that the Leafs were hoping for when they drafted him back in 2017. Considering Benning was only ever going to be a depth piece who likely won’t be around long-term anyways, there’s certainly an argument that it’s a worthwhile gamble. While the Sharks are taking on a higher cap hit in the swap, San Jose also has the flexibility at this point to make those kinds of moves.
At the same time, Liljegren is now in his mid-20s and it still seems like his game has never fully taken shape. He hasn’t been able to put up huge offensive numbers to this point, but also isn’t anything special defensively. So the negative in the trade comes in the fact that the Sharks gave up two draft picks (one of those being of a decent caliber), for a player who may not turn out for them. Liljegren's ceiling may be quite a bit higher than Benning's, but he's never really gotten close to reaching it.
But if Liljegren was ever going to be able to finally take a step, he’ll get to get the opportunity to do it in San Jose. It’s a sink-or-swim scenario for the defender, and while that means Liljegren becoming a long-term part of the team's blue line is far from a guarantee, if he does, the trade could end up looking really good down the road.
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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