Word of Liljegren's extension came minutes before the Maple Leafs had to decide whether or not to tender the defenseman a qualifying offer.
Timothy Liljegren will be back with the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the defenseman has locked up a two-year extension worth an average annual value of $3 million.
Word of Liljegren's extension came mere minutes before the 5 p.m. ET deadline where Toronto would have had to tender the Swede a qualifying offer of $1.5 million to retain the player's rights. At that point, Liljegren could have exercised his right to salary arbitration and Toronto could have been forced into a higher number for the defenseman.
The Leafs announced Liljegren as one of the players who were tendered a qualifying offer. It's likely since a deal has been reportedly struck that this was done until the deal is official
During his media availability in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving indicated that Liljegren's arbitration rights were a consideration that the club had to look at before deciding on a course of action.
Clearly, both the Leafs and defenseman found a number they could agree on.
The Leafs now have five defensemen under contract for next season and continue to hold the exclusive negotiation rights to Chris Tanev. The club acquired those rights from the Dallas Stars on Saturday.
Toronto also agreed to a four-year, $15 million extension with forward Max Domi.
According to PuckPedia.com, the Leafs have $12,955,333 left to spend under the $88 million salary cap with 17 players committed.
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