With Veterans Out, Maple Leafs Look to Liljegren and Sandin to Establish Themselves as Top-4 Defensemen
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With Jake Muzzin and TJ Brodie on the sidelines, the Maple Leafs will lean on veterans like Mark Giordano and Jordie Benn. But the Maple Leafs want Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren to take the next step.
PITTSBURGH — Thirty-nine-year-old Mark Giordano came off the ice following his Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday having just logged a season-high 21:43 of ice time.
“I’ve played those minutes before, it’s nothing new to me,” he said.
Although Giordano is no stranger to playing more minutes, it was a bit unexpected as the Leafs had to deal with the last-minute absence of TJ Brodie, who had been a game-time decision with an oblique injury.
Missing his first game since becoming a Leaf when he signed with the team in Oct. 2020, Brodie will be unavailable to the team for a minimum of two weeks.
And although players like Giordano and Jordie Benn — who made his Maple Leafs debut on Saturday — can help fill some of the void, Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin will be counted on to take the next step in their NHL careers.
Already without Jake Muzzin (out indefinitely with a cervical spine injury) out of the lineup, Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas was asked if he might look to make a trade down the road to help the team’s depth on defense.
“We’ve got young defensemen in both Timothy [Liljegren] and Rasmus [Sandin] that have earned more opportunity to see how much they can handle and with the increased opportunity see if they can continue to elevate themselves,” he said on Monday. “That’ll be Step 1.”
Liljegren (16:45) and Sandin (16:38) ranked second and third in even-strength ice time on Saturday, only trailing Morgan Rielly (18:00).
It won’t be the first time the Swedish defense pair skated together in an elevated role.
Last season, they moved up to the top-four assignment for a game against the New York Rangers on Jan. 19. Muzzin was on the sidelines with a concussion while Justin Holl was in COVID-19 protocol.
It didn’t go well.
Despite jumping out to a 3-1 lead after one period, the Maple Leafs fell 6-3 in game that saw fourth-line forward Ryan Reaves score twice.
After the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe called his team’s effort “soft and purposeless.” He later walked back those comments when speaking to the media following the team’s next practice.
Liljegren and Sandin signed identical two-year, $2.8 million contracts this year. Liljegren signed his early in the off-season, while Sandin missed a portion of training camp before settling with the Maple Leafs.
And while Sandin came back for the opportunity to play, now is the time for both of them to show they’re ready for a greater challenge.
“I think they both see themselves as top-four defenseman in the league,” Giordano said of the pair. “In order to play and play big minutes as a defenseman in the NHL, you’ve got to play against the other team’s best players. You’ve got to be good defensively and that’s where everything starts from.”
With Gordiano and the 35-year-old Benn in the lineup, the Maple Leafs want to spread some of the minutes around, but that means Sandin and Liljegren will play more.
Sandin, who moved to his left side last game, should thrive with Liljegren, should they be up for the task.
“We’ve got guys like Sandin and Liljegren who are looking for more opportunities and they’re going to get that,” Keefe said.