The Sharks plan to usher in a former top-20 draft pick for a fresh start.
San Jose acquired defenseman Tomas Liljegren from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday in exchange for defenseman Matt Benning and two draft picks.
Liljegren, a 25-year-old Swede, was the No. 17 overall pick within the 2017 draft but has struggled to live as much as those expectations under pressure from hockey's biggest players.
He has 65 profession points (14 goals) in 197 games with the Maple Leafs since making his NHL debut in 2019. He played primarily within the NHL for a lot of the past three seasons, including much of last 12 months as a top-four defenseman, and is a career-plus-38 on the ice. Although he signed a two-year, $6 million contract as a restricted free agent this summer, the Leafs played him in only one among their first 10 games this season under latest head coach Craig Berube after expanding their defensive mix as a free agent.
The picks going to Toronto together with the 30-year-old Benning as a part of the deal are a 2025 third-rounder and a 2026 sixth-rounder. The third-round pick will likely be the very best of the 2 the Sharks own, either Colorado's or Edmonton's . As a part of the Tomas Hertl deal, they traded their very own third-rounder to Vegas.
Benning arrived in San Jose as a free agent in 2022 on a four-year, $5 million contract, but missed much of last 12 months with a lower-body injury and ultimately had season-ending hip surgery. He scored one goal and 25 assists in 98 games for the Sharks and had a minus-28 mark on a struggling team.
The Sharks struggled defensively early within the season, allowing 4.00 goals per game, third-worst within the NHL, although this week they snapped their nine-game early-season losing streak with back-to-back wins against Utah and . .. the kings broke through.
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