The sting of defeat is still fresh in the minds of the Leafs' players, but thankfully for some, the World Hockey Championships have presented some with the opportunity to distract themselves by getting right back on the horse to play some international puck.
For the Leafs, it was originally believed that William Nylander would be joining the Swedish National team for the tournament, but so far that hasn't come to fruition. Another Leaf, however, did make the trek to join Sweden as Timothy Liljegren did not wait long to have an impact for his home nation.
Once upon a time - and when I say once upon a time, I mean this past summer - Leafs GM Kyle Dubas praised Sandin and Liljegren as a huge part of the Leafs' future on defense. However, with the cap squeeze that the Leafs faced at the deadline, combined with the team's acquisitions of Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn before the deadline, as well as the emergence of Conor Timmins as a potential option for the Buds next year, Sandin was sent packing, landing in Washington in exchange for Boston's 1st round pick and defenseman Erik Gustafsson.
Sandin is a quality young blueliner when it comes to the offensive side of the puck. However, in his own zone, he left a lot to be desired, which is one of the main reasons he was moved out.
Meanwhile, Liljegren remains a Leaf - at least for now - but the team is expected to undergo a bit of a transformation this summer. It's up to Liljegren to have a strong tournament now and bring his best to training camp this fall to avoid being cast as the team's 6th or 7th defenseman again next season. With the planned departure of Justin Holl (UFA) this summer, the hope is that Liljegren can take yet another step and will be in the running for a job in the top-4 next season.
