The Toronto Maple Leafs have a couple of injuries to deal with to start the season, as both forward Pierre Engvall and defenseman Timothy Liljegren will be injured to start training camp.
At this moment, the Leafs haven’t released specific details on the injuries to either player. However, what we do know at the moment is that Engvall is a possibility to return, but might also miss some of the regular season, while all signs point to Liljegren missing the start of the season. More information will be revealed on Wednesday, as the team will address their statuses when camp opens.
Engvall is coming off a breakout season in Toronto, with 15 goals, 20 assists, and 35 points in 78 games for the Leafs while mostly playing in a bottom-six role. It was his third season in the NHL, spending the first two struggling to stay in the lineup, but he established himself as an excellent defensive forward with a scoring touch and was a key part of the Leafs' shutdown third line and their penalty kill last season. He signed a two-year contract extension with a $2.25 million cap hit in the offseason.
Liljegren is also coming off a breakout season in 2021-22, getting into 61 games for the Leafs with five goals, 18 assists, and 23 points. He had been between the NHL and AHL for the previous two seasons, getting into just 13 games in those two years, but he established himself as an excellent defender in the minutes he got, and showed potential to continue that play in elevated roles at various points of the season. He signed a two-year contract extension with a $1.4 million cap hit in the offseason.
The Leafs will have to figure out replacement options for the Leafs during the preseason, as they have plenty of new additions to try out in various depth roles throughout training camp. Calle Jarnkrok will likely play on the third line in Engvall’s place, although he was likely to be in that role anyways as a replacement for Ilya Mikheyev, who left in free agency. Liljegren’s replacement will depend on whether or not the Leafs can sign restricted free agent Rasmus Sandin to a contract, as he currently is the team’s seventh defenseman on the depth charts. If that doesn’t happen, Victor Mete or Jordie Benn likely take Liljegren’s place to start the season.
More must-reads: