Burning Questions For the 2025-26 Season: Timothy Liljegren

With the 2025-26 season now in sight, the plan is to address the burning questions surrounding every player on the roster (or competing for a roster spot). These questions are focused on how the player is expected to contribute to the Sharks this season and what their role will be.

Timothy Liljegren
6'1" 201lbs
26 years old
2017 1st round pick

Last Season

Toronto Maple Leafs
1 game, 0 goals, 0 assists, 13:55 TOI

San Jose Sharks
67 games, 6 goals, 11 assists, 19:16 TOI

After signing a new contract in the summer of 2024 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Liljegren was a healthy scratch for nine of the first ten games of the season. He was traded to the Sharks on Halloween for a 2025 3rd-round pick, a 2026 6th-round pick, and defenseman Matt Benning.

Liljegren settled into a second-pairing role with the Sharks, with Mario Ferraro his most common partner. As the Sharks looked for anyone with a pulse to quarterback the power play, he even got some run there as well. Liljegren enters this season in the last year of his deal at $3 million AAV and is scheduled to be a UFA next summer.

Burning Question

What is Liljegren's future?

The San Jose Sharks enter the season with one defenseman currently under contract for the 2026-27 season (hi Dmitry Orlov). While players like Shakir Mukhamadullin and Sam Dickinson are expected to be on the roster, and Luca Cagnoni and Jack Thompson could be pushing for spots, that is a lot of young players. Also, Thompson is the only right-handed defenseman of the bunch. Should the Sharks look to secure Liljegren's extension?

The Sharks have approximately a billion dollars ($62.2 million) in projected cap space for next season. Next year's defensive free agents are not the most exciting bunch. Jake Walman (left-handed) or Rasmus Andersson (right-handed) are the two players who might make the most sense. If Liljegren is good in his role as a middle-pairing defenseman, he is still young enough that you don't expect his play to fall off over the next couple of years, which might make sense for the Sharks to lock him up.

Evolving Hockey projects a Liljegren extension at 3 years $5 million AAV. Nothing prohibits the Sharks from being aggressive in free agency or from being unable to lock up their own star talent.

Expectations

Even with the additions the Sharks made in Orlov, John Klingberg, and Nick Leddy, Timothy Liljegren will be an every-night type of player. Though his usage may dip a bit this season, especially on the power play.

The Sharks will have to decide between Ferraro and Liljegren on players entering their final season of their contracts, and are looking to be re-signed. While Ferraro is the more popular player and a leader in the room, the smart play might be to keep Liljegren.