Capitals Add Timothy Liljegren in Deadline Deal with Sharks

Per NHL insider Chris Johnston, the Washington Capitals are acquiring Timothy Liljegren.

Including Liljegren, the San Jose Sharks had six players on the NHL roster set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season — Vincent Desharnais, Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg, Alex Nedeljkovic, Ryan Reaves. Liljegren has been in and out of the San Jose Sharks’ lineup this season due to a mix of injuries and healthy scratches. When he does see the ice, he has been the first and second pairing alongside Dmitry Orlov and Mario Ferraro. This transaction surrounding the blueliner comes just ahead of the NHL trade deadline, slated for 3:00 p.m. EST on March 6.

Liljegren was averaging 20:08 — which was fourth among Sharks defensemen.

San Jose originally acquired Liljegren from the Toronto Maple Leafs last year. The 6-foot-1, right-shot defenseman is on the final year of a two-season, $6 million contract that carries a cap hit of $3 million.

Washington Capitals Land Timothy Liljegren

The Capitals are currently sitting with 69 points in the Metropolitan Division and have a 31-25-7 overall record. Washington next sees action on March 7 against the Boston Bruins; puck-drop is alted for 12:30 p.m. EST.

The Washington Capitals are acquiring Timothy Liljegren
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 6, 2026

Liljegren has 93 points across 307 league games played in his career. He has scored 21 goals while tallying 72 assists — 11 of these points have been tallied for the Sharks this year.

Liljegren is known as a a mobile puck-moving blueliner who is a strong skater making good first passes.

Washington also traded forward Nic Dowd leading up to the deadline. The Capitals are four points back of the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot with two extra games played. They also re-signed forward Ethen Frank to a two-year, $4 million contract extension.

One Capitals player has spoken to the media and revealed that this year's trade deadline has been tough on the locker room.

“It’s terrible,” Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren said following Dowd's trade. “It sucks. ... You could feel it in the room today. You could feel it in the locker room. When you lose a brother, when you lose someone that has represented the Capitals organization to the fullest the last seven, eight years he’s been here, he is Capitals hockey. It’s not a good feeling. It sucks. We’ll sit with it today and then the sun comes up tomorrow and we’ll rest, refocus and be ready to go for a massive tilt on Saturday.”

The return the San Jose Sharks are getting from the Capitals for Liljegren has not yet to be reported or officially announced by either team.

Liljegren was previously teammates with back Rasmus Sandin in Toronto.

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