The Toronto Maple Leafs have talked to other teams about some of their defensemen, sources told The Athletic's James Mirtle.
The recent emergence of Timothy Liljegren appears to have created a bit of a logjam on Toronto's blue line. The 22-year-old Swede has played at least 17 minutes in back-to-back games, posting an expected goals share of 91.7% in those two contests - best among Leafs defensemen, per Natural Stat Trick.
Liljegren has only played 17 career games with the Leafs, but if he continues to establish himself as a legitimate NHLer, that would give Toronto seven capable blue-liners.
Veterans Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and T.J. Brodie all have full no-trade clauses - and Rielly just inked an eight-year, $60-million extension - so it's unlikely any of them are being floated in trade talks.
That would leave Liljegren, Rasmus Sandin, Travis Dermott, and Justin Holl.
Liljegren and Sandin - the Leafs' first-round picks in 2017 and 2018 - are both in the final season of their entry-level contracts. In addition to their youth and upside, their affordability is valuable to the cap-strapped Leafs.
Holl has been a healthy scratch in back-to-back games in favor of Liljegren. Dermott, meanwhile, didn't play the final 10 minutes on Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings while the Leafs were defending a lead.
Dermott, 24, has two years left on his contract with a $1.5-million cap hit, per CapFriendly. Holl, 29, also has two years remaining with a $2-million cap hit. His deal includes a 10-team no-trade list.
Holl has played top-four minutes for the Leafs in each of the last two seasons and was protected in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. Dermott has predominately played third-pairing minutes in his career - occasionally moving up in the lineup when injuries struck. He was left unprotected in the expansion draft and Seattle opted to take forward Jared McCann from Toronto.
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