The Real Reason Behind Timothy Liljegren's Trade Finally Revealed

When Toronto decided to send Timothy Liljegren to the San Jose Sharks earlier this season, it was mainly due to his inability to find a consistent roster spot, though he didn't do too much to impress head coach Craig Berube.

Often a healthy scratch and eschewed in favor of other defensemen, Liljegren was traded to San Jose for a 3rd and 6th round pick and defenseman Matt Benning, who is currently with the Toronto Marlies.

So far Liljegren has seemed to relish in his new home, as he's blocking a lot of shots and hitting more, but he's still not scoring, with only one goal and no assists, but is part of a struggling Sharks team he's still finding his footing.

However, there could be more than just a lack of a roster spot for Liljegren, and it might have had to do with the fact they had much better shutdown defenders at their disposal.

If Liljegren was hoping for a spot, he should have talked to his former GM before he went on a spending spree.

In came Chris Tanev, Oliver Eman-Larsson, and Jani Hakanpaa to shore up the defense and they've certainly made an impact.

Toronto is letting in the fourth least amount of goals this season with only 2.48, and while a lot of it has to do with their goaltending, the defense deserves just as much credit.

Jake McCabe has started to emerge as a true shutdown defender beside Chris Tanev, Conor Timmins is quietly becoming one of Toronto's most dependable players, and OEL has looked ten years younger.

Kudos to Brad Treliving for going out to get a clear need and not only fill any holes but create a brick wall out of nowhere.

Tanev is on pace to shatter the single-season blocks record and is a huge reason why Toronto keeps themselves in games.

With how good Toronto got with free agents coming in, and with other acquisitions coming in and proving themselves, the writing was on the wall for Liljegren.

In closing, Timothy Liljegren really had no spot with the Maple Leafs due to their free agent signings and focus on a revamped defense, coupled with the fact their other stars picked things up, and Liljegren failed to impress.