The Capitals are considering bringing defenseman Timothy Liljegren back next season. David Pognotta of The Fourth Period said both sides are interested in a contract extension. Liljegren, originally drafted my Toronto with the 17th overall pick in the 2017 draft, was acquired by the Caps from the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline this past March for a 2026 fourth round pick.
The Caps have blueline spots to fill and now that they've to see Liljegren play for ten games, they must have liked what they saw. No one ever likes to give up a draft pick for nothing, and resigning Liljegren could make him more than just a deadline rental. He must have shown the coaches that he can carve out a role in DC.
Matt Roy is the only right-handed shooting defenseman under contract in next year after the trade of John Carlson to the Ducks at the deadline and with Trevor Van Reimsdyk’s contract expiring. The Caps will have blueline slots to fill with Trevor van Riemsdyk set to be a free agent, and who will be 35 when next season begins in October, the Capitals continue to swap out older players with younger ones with more upside.
Liljegren scored a goal and had ten assists for the Sharks before the trade to Washington, where he didn’t record a point. However, Liljegren blocked 90 shots in just 47 games. That’s almost two blocks per game and projects to almost 160 in a full 82 game season. These kind of number would have put Liljegren in the top 12 in the league in blocked shots. His relative CORSI. according to hockey-reference.com has hovered around 50.0, but last season it dropped to 39.0. He protects the puck and plays responsibly in his own end, but he was a -7 last year for the Sharks and Caps combined and has never played more than 68 games in a season since 2021-22.
The Capitals' reboot, which began in the Summer of 2024, rolls on. They have been able to swap out older players more expensive players with cheaper and younger players with more upside. The team has already flipped Darcy Kuemper for Pierre-Luc Dubois, Nick Jensen for Jakob Chychrun, and Justin Sourdif for a 2nd and 6th round picks. Addressing the bottom four D-man pairings will allow the front office to focus on finding a top pairing defenseman to solidify their defensive corps in free agency or via trade.
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