The former 17th overall pick from 2017 has been traded seven and a half years later for a conditional third-round pick in 2025 (either Edmonton or Colorado’s pick), a sixth-round pick in 2026, and veteran bottom-pairing depth option Matt Benning.
Benning, a 30-year-old right shot with nearly 500 NHL games of experience spanning Edmonton, Nashville, and San Jose, is coming off of major hip surgery that ended his 2023-24 campaign last January. He’s averaged a career-low 13:02 TOI through seven games with the Sharks this season.
While Liljegren has proven himself to be a bona fide NHL defenseman over nearly 200 games in the league — a competent defender and puck mover — he struggled to establish a standout trait he could hang his hat on in Toronto.