Elliotte Friedman Suggests Trade on the Horizon for Utah Hockey Club and Maple Leafs
Photo credit: The Hockey Writers
A top NHL Insider claims that the Utah Hockey Club may acquire Timothy Liljegren as a result of two significant injuries to their blue line.
After dominating some division rivals, the Utah Hockey Club has a strong start to the 2024-25 season and is now 4-1-1 after six games in NHL history. Sadly, the injury bug still plagues them; Elliotte Friedman revealed how far away their summer acquisition is from making a comeback, and John Marino was already out for a long time.
"I think their update this week was its still not close"
They also have to contend with veteran Sean Durzi, who recently suffered an injury and will likely be sidelined for a long time, according to Friedman.
"I heard four, five months for Durzi"
Durzi's replacement has already been signed by the team, but it's still insufficient because they'll probably need to use draft capital to add a big player to their blue line.
Since the injury, they have reportedly been linked to a number of players. Friedman mentioned Timothy Liljegren, who has reportedly been on the trade block in Toronto for the past few weeks. Liljegren is exactly what Utah needs, so it's easy to draw the connection even though Friedman doesn't specifically mention him by name. He has discussed Liljegren as a potential option for a number of teams.
"You know what happens at that point in time," said Friedman. "The vultures start circling 'Ahhh you need a defenseman, you're short some guys, what can we separate you from that we value in return for a defenseman?"
It wouldn't be surprising to see them make major moves at some point this year, considering how aggressive Ryan Smith, Bill Armstrong, and the front office were this off-season. With such a promising start, it makes perfect sense for both parties to make it happen if they can find someone like Liljegren.
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