Rumoured trade between Toronto and Utah falls apart

Bad news came pouring in Utah on Wednesday when the Hockey Club confirmed that defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino have both undergone surgery, with Durzi’s timeline for recovery set at four to six months and Marino’s at three to four months.

Almost immediately, fans and pundits thought the Utah HC was going to pull the trigger on a trade looking to bolster their depleted blue line. Days ago, rumours emerged that the Hockey Club was looking at Toronto Maple Leafs’ Timothy Liljegren as a main target to fix their issues on the back end. Since the preseason, Liljegren has been bandied about the rumor mill with most believing that the Leafs will eventually look to move on from him on a permanent basis. Liljegren has been held out of the lineup for the majority of games this season with newly appointed head coach Craig Berube clearly not feeling that Liljegren is a good fit for the system of hockey he wants to deploy. With Toronto looking like a team trying to unload a defenseman, many expected Utah to come calling.

However on Thursday, Pierre LeBrun explained how a trade is not happening between Utah and Toronto. This is what he said on the Early Trading segment on TSN:

“I know that a lot of people might look at that and say “Hello, the Leafs might be open to moving Timothy Liljegren , who might be looking for a change of scenery. Why wouldn’t Utah look at Liljegren?” and who knows, maybe they will eventually, but for right now, I don’t think he’s that appealing because he has term on his deal.

“Where does he fit after Durzi and Marino come back? I think the rental piece is where Utah probably will go if they decide to make a trade, but for now, they want to stay internal and see if they can survive these injuries.”

Liljegren is currently in the first year of a two year deal that carries an average annual value and cap hit of $3 million per season. LeBrun is right that it won’t be easy for any team looking to acquire him to fit under the National Hockey League’s salary cap. And with Utah looking for a quick fix as they await Durzi and Marino’s returns, Liljegren isn’t the real fit.