Major development for the Leafs on the blueline

The Leafs have endured significant hardships on the back end this season, starting with Conor Timmins having missed a month at the start of the season after suffering an injury during training camp. They have also endured injuries to John Klingberg, Mark Giordano and Timothy Liljegren, but the latter has been back on the ice over the past week or so, ramping up his level of activity.

On Thursday, we received a huge update on the Liljegren front, as Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe confirmed to the media, following the morning skate, that Liljegren is close to finally returning to action. Keefe told the media on Thursday that it's just about working on Liljegren's conditioning at this point.

Liljegren has been sidelined since November 2nd after a dangerous trip from Brad Marchand sent him crashing feet-first into the boards, resulting in a high-ankle sprain - though it originally looked much worse.

The 24-year-old defenseman has been limited to just 10 games as a result of his injury, but even prior to suffering his ankle sprain, Liljegren had been struggling to get his offensive game going to the tune of just 1 lone assist through his first 10 appearances.

Liljegren is currently in the final year of a 2-year deal that paid him $1.4M per season. He's set to become a restricted free agent at the end of this season, so I'm sure he'd like to see his name penciled in on the scoresheet as often as possible the rest of the way so he can cash in on his next deal.