Capitals re-sign 27-year-old defenseman on $6.5 million contract

After failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season, the offseason work has begun for Washington Capitals senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick.

And while much of the attention is focused on the future of Alex Ovechkin, Washington’s longtime captain and the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, Patrick has taken care of another important matter of internal business.

It was announced that defenseman Timothy Liljegren, whom the Capitals acquired in March at the NHL Trade Deadline from the San Jose Sharks in return for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick, has been re-signed to a two-year contract with a $3.25 million salary cap hit.

Liljegren was selected in the opening round (17th overall) of the 2017 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he would spend the first several years of his professional career.

He would play his first professional season with the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies, not only standing out as the AHL’s youngest defenseman, but also helping the Marlies win the 2017 Calder Cup.

He made his NHL debut with the Maple Leafs in January 2020 and later picked up his first NHL point six games later against the Chicago Blackhawks. But in October 2024, Liljegren was traded from the Maple Leafs to the Sharks in exchange for Matt Benning, a third-round pick in 2025, and a sixth-round pick in 2026.

This past season, split between the Sharks and Capitals, Liljegren appeared in 47 games and scored once while adding 10 assists. In 311 career NHL games with the Maple Leafs, Sharks, and Capitals, Liljegren has scored 21 goals with 72 assists.

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