Capitals sign Sandin to 5-year, $23M extension

The Washington Capitals inked defenseman Rasmus Sandin to a five-year contract extension at an average annual value of $4.6 million, the club announced Wednesday.

Sandin would’ve been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at season’s end. The Swede, who turns 24 on Thursday, has 20 points – including 17 assists – in 52 games with the Capitals in 2023-24.

He also posted 20 points in 52 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season before being traded to Washington in February 2023.

Sandin collected 15 points in 19 contests with the Capitals down the stretch last campaign.

Rasmus Sandin, extended 5x$4.6M by WSH, is a second pairing offensive defenceman who moves the puck well. Has had some defensive growing pains in DC, especially when playing with Carlson, but skill is still evident. #AllCaps pic.twitter.com/EbpkjIbwpk

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 6, 2024

Sandin played parts of four seasons with the Maple Leafs to start his career. They drafted him 29th overall in 2018.

The Capitals have been active over the last couple of days. Washington traded forward Anthony Mantha to the Vegas Golden Knights for a pair of picks Tuesday night.

Maple Leafs trade Sandin to Capitals for Gustafsson, 1st-rounder

The Washington Capitals acquired defenseman Rasmus Sandin from the Toronto Maple Leafs for blue-liner Erik Gustafsson and a 2023 first-round pick, the teams announced Tuesday.

The first-round selection that Washington is sending was initially acquired from the Boston Bruins in the Dmitry Orlov trade.

Toronto selected Sandin 29th overall in 2019. The 22-year-old has posted 20 points in 52 games this season. He’s signed through 2023-24 at a $1.4-million cap hit and will then be a restricted free agent.

Gustafsson has registered 38 points in 61 games with the Capitals this campaign. He carries an $800,000 cap hit and will reach unrestricted free agency at season’s end.

The 30-year-old journeyman has proven to be an excellent power-play quarterback throughout his seven-year NHL career. His best season came in 2018-19 with the Chicago Blackhawks when he posted 60 points in 79 games. Toronto will be his sixth NHL stop if the club doesn’t flip him before Friday.

The deal saves the Maple Leafs $1 million in cap space.

It marks the third significant move made by Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas over the last couple weeks. He landed Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 17, then Jake McCabe and Sam Lafferty from the Blackhawks on Monday. Sandin was the first notable player to be moved off the active roster.

Dubas may not be done, either.

Maple Leafs, Sandin ‘going nowhere’ in contract negotiations

Deep into the offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs and restricted free-agent defenseman Rasmus Sandin are at a standstill over a new contract.

“Negotiations are going nowhere,” Sandin’s agent, Lewis Gross, told Sportsnet’s Luke Fox on Wednesday.

Neither Gross nor Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas divulged why a deal hasn’t been reached.

“Negotiating contracts via the media (has) an adverse impact on player (and) team reputation and traditionally (does) not create resolutions to private matters,” Dubas said.

Sandin is Toronto’s lone remaining RFA. The Maple Leafs signed defenseman Timothy Liljegren – a fair comparable to Sandin also coming off his entry-level contract – to a two-year, $2.8-million deal in April.

The Maple Leafs are currently $1.4 million over the $82.5-million salary cap, according to Cap Friendly, but teams can exceed the limit in the offseason.

Toronto drafted Sandin 29th overall in 2018. He set career highs in games played (51), points (16), and average ice time (16:58) this past season but had his breakout campaign cut short due to a knee injury. He didn’t draw into the Leafs’ playoff roster after he recovered.

Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and Mark Giordano occupy the left side of the Leafs’ blue line, making Sandin’s possible role unclear.

Maple Leafs’ Sandin: Failure to crack lineup ‘a little frustrating’

Rasmus Sandin skated in 28 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a 19-year-old rookie last season, but he’s yet to play in a contest this year.

“It’s obviously a little frustrating,” he said Monday, according to TSN’s Kristen Shilton. “It was a very long time ago that I played a game. But we’re hanging in there, having fun in practice. Great to be back with the guys.”

Following an injury to Jake Muzzin in the postseason, the Maple Leafs opted to roll with veteran Martin Marincin instead of Sandin. That means the young blue-liner hasn’t played a competitive game since March 10, 2020.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said the team is “sensitive” to the fact Sandin hasn’t cracked the lineup yet.

“We’ve tried to prioritize with him using this time … to learn what’s necessary to be an everyday NHL player,” Keefe said. “There is some growth to be had there. We have no doubt he’s going to be an everyday NHLer.”

Sandin said before the campaign that he bulked up in the offseason and that teammate William Nylander couldn’t “even handle me on the ice.”

However, Keefe said Sandin is still “maturing his body” in the gym and not just working on his skills.

The Maple Leafs selected Sandin 29th overall at the 2018 draft. He collected eight points in 28 games last season while averaging 14:19 of ice time per contest. His 48.7% expected goals share at five-on-five last season ranked eighth out of the team’s nine defensemen to play in at least 10 games.

Toronto lost Tyson Barrie and Cody Ceci to free agency in the offseason, but its blue line is much deeper thanks to the additions of TJ Brodie, Zach Bogosian, and Mikko Lehtonen.

“Whenever I get the chance I’ll be ready,” Sandin said.

Maple Leafs promote top prospect Sandin from AHL

The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled defenseman Rasmus Sandin from the AHL, the team announced Monday.

Sandin, the 29th overall pick in the 2018 draft, is widely considered the organization’s top prospect. He’s produced 15 points in 21 AHL contests with the Toronto Marlies this season and tallied 10 points in seven games with Sweden at the 2020 World Junior Championship, where he was named the tournament’s best defenseman.

The 19-year-old made the Maple Leafs out of training camp and skated in six NHL contests to open the campaign. While playing just over 12 minutes per night with the big club, he tallied two assists and produced some dazzling possession stats, including a 57.5 Corsi For percentage and a 52.5 expected goals for percentage, according to Natural Stat Trick.

It’s unclear how Toronto plans to use him this time around. If Sandin suits up in four more NHL games this season, his entry-level contract will kick in. That would make him a restricted free agent in 2022 instead of 2023.

Fellow lefty-shooting defenseman Jake Muzzin has missed the Leafs’ last seven games with a broken foot and was placed on injured reserve Sunday. Veteran Martin Marincin has filled in for Muzzin of late, yielding mixed results.

Report: Leafs won’t move Liljegren, Sandin, future 1st-rounder in rental deal

The Toronto Maple Leafs will not part ways with defensive prospects Timothy Liljegrenor Rasmus Sandin in exchange for a rental player, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Additionally, the team won’t consider moving a future first-round pick in a rental deal, Friedman wrote in Thursday’s edition of “31 Thoughts.”

The Leafs already sent their 2019 first-round selection to the Los Angeles Kings for a player with term in defenseman Jake Muzzin, but moving a future first-rounder for a player on an expiring contract is apparently not in the cards for Toronto.

Liljegren was selected by the Maple Leafs with the 17th overall pick at the 2017 draft. The smooth-skating defenseman has been plagued by injuries for much of his tenure with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies but he has the potential to become a top-four NHL blue-liner. The 19-year-old’s right-handed shot is also a valuable commodity in the league.

Sandin, 18, was the 29th overall pick of the 2018 draft. A sprained elbow has held the Swede to just 20 games with the Marlies this season, but he’s picked up an impressive five goals and five assists in those contests.

Both Ron Hainsey and Jake Gardiner are scheduled to become UFAs on July 1. Considering the Leafs’ impending cap constraints, they may be forced to fill the void on the blue line internally next season.