The Sharks are making a transfer to usher in a former top-20 draft choose for a contemporary begin.
San Jose acquired defenseman Tomas Liljegren from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday in alternate for defenseman Matt Benning and a pair of draft picks.
Liljegren, a 25-year-old Swede, was the No. 17 general choose within the 2017 draft however has struggled to stay as much as these expectations below the stress of hockey’s brightest lights.
He has 65 profession factors (14 targets) over 197 video games with the Maple Leafs since making his NHL debut in 2019. He performed many of the final three seasons primarily within the NHL, together with a lot of final 12 months as a top-four defenseman, and is a profession plus-38 on the ice. Regardless of signing him to a two-year, $6 million deal this summer time as a restricted free agent, the Leafs performed him in solely one in all its first 10 video games this season below new head coach Craig Berube after including to their defensive combine in free company.
The picks headed to Toronto within the deal together with the 30-year-old Benning are a 2025 third-rounder and a 2026 sixth-rounder. The third-round choose would be the better of the 2 the Sharks personal, both Colorado’s or Edmonton’s. They traded their very own third-rounder to Vegas within the Tomas Hertl deal.
Benning arrived in San Jose on a four-year, $5 million deal as a free agent in 2022 however missed a lot of final 12 months with a lower-body harm, ultimately present process season-ending hip surgical procedure. He had one aim and 25 assists over 98 video games with the Sharks and was a minus-28 on a struggling staff.
The Sharks have struggled defensively within the early season, permitting 4.00 targets per sport, tied for third-worst within the NHL, although they did break their season-opening nine-game shedding streak this week with back-to-back wins over Utah and the Kings.
Initially Revealed: October 30, 2024 at 4:46 PM PDT
