Timothy Liljegren putting in the work ahead of first season under Craig Berube

At one point last season, Timothy Liljegren only found himself in the lineup because the Leafs needed a right-shot defenceman. Otherwise, according to former head coach Sheldon Keefe, he would likely have been scratched and used primarily as an extra defenseman.

On June 30th, the Leafs signed the 25-year-old to a two-year extension that will see him earn $3M per season. At the time, many thought the extension would mean that he was going to be traded as the deal avoided any potential arbitration hearing. So far, that hasn't been the case.

With the Leafs adding Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and potentially Jani Hakanpaa, Liljegren is projected to play third-pairing minutes again this season. To earn more playing time, Liljegren has upped his off-season training this past week, as seen in Nick Barden's article for The Hockey News.

Last week, he was seen working on his skating and puck control and over the weekend Liljegren was seen in the gym working on his strength and conditioning well ahead of training camp.

The Swedish defenseman skated in 55 games last season after dealing with a high-ankle sprain early in the season. He finished with 3 goals and 20 assists while averaging slightly under 20 minutes per game. He added an assist in 17:52 of ice time per game in the Leafs' first round loss to the Boston Bruins as well.

The Leafs have been very patient with the former 17th overall pick from the 2017 draft and while he took a step forward last season, Liljegren himself admitted he struggled after he returned from his injury. The hope is that Liljegren will be able to find a new confidence under new bench boss Craig Berube and take another step forward.

Source: Hockey Reference
Timothy Liljegren Stats