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The Athletic’s James Mirtle revealed in his annual Leafs’ mailbag why Timothy Liljegren may struggle the most under Craig Berube.

Every year, James Mirtle of The Athletic answers a number of questions from Leaf fans about the upcoming season. In his latest edition, one of the questions Mirtle responded to was which Leaf will have the hardest time adjusting to Craig Berube’s coaching style.

“Unfortunately, I think the obvious answer might be Timothy Liljegren,” wrote Mirtle. “It sounds like they’re going to start with either OEL or Jake McCabe on the right side, which means pushing Liljegren down to the third pairing. If Berube’s not loving what he’s seeing from that duo, he could really limit their ice time. And I can’t see him getting as much PP time.”

Liljegren was expected to take a step forward in his development last season, but after being injured against the Boston Bruins early in the season, never really looked like himself upon his return. At one point, former head coach Sheldon Keefe even said that Liljegren would have been a scratch if it wasn’t for the fact he was their only right-handed defenseman available. Liljegren skated in just 55 games last season for the Leafs where he registered 3 goals and 23 points in just under 20 minutes of ice time per game.

The Swedish blueliner has not managed to play more than third-pairing minutes with an real consistency and he hasn’t found a way to contribute more offensively to help offset some of the defensive miscues. He is also going to lose his power play time to the likes of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who offers more offense and experience.

With training camp around the corner, Liljegren will have to make a very good first impression with Berube on the defensive side of the puck, or it will make for a very long season with plenty of trips to the press box, or perhaps even a trade.