One of the interesting restricted free agents that remains unsigned is Rasmus Sandin of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 2018 first-round pick does not have arbitration rights yet and reports have emerged over the last few months about him wondering where he stands on the team’s depth chart, after they brought back Mark Giordano on a two-year deal.
Now, new comments from Sandin’s camp have emerged, explaining how little movement there has been in contract talks To Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, agent Lewis Gross said “negotiations are going nowhere.” Maple Leafs’ general manager Kyle Dubas responded with some firm thoughts on negotiating through the media, including the fact that it “traditionally [does] not create resolutions to private matters.”
A player that is often linked to Sandin, Timothy Liljegren, signed a two-year, $2.8MM contract with the Maple Leafs in June, avoiding restricted free agency entirely. That contract is likely being used by Toronto as a direct comparable, given the similarity in production between the two young defensemen.
But even that $1.4MM average annual value might be an issue for the Maple Leafs right now, who are pushed right up against the cap once again. While their situation right now could be resolved by carrying a 20-man roster, it seems more likely that a trade is coming at some point – especially if they want to fit Sandin in.
The fact that no contract movement is happening will raise some eyebrows in that trade speculation, given the fact that Giordano, Morgan Rielly, and Jake Muzzin are locked in on the left side of Toronto’s blueline already. If Sandin was signed, then there would be no real reason to move him, as depth at defense is extremely important. But if contract talks have still not progressed, perhaps the team will have to move on at some point.
Like any of the other RFAs, Sandin will need a contract by December 1 if he wants to play in the NHL this season.
Yoikes! I have to agree with GMKD on that – it really doesn’t help to try negotiating your contract in the media. If Lou was still there, Sandin might end up on the back of a milk carton for that (and Lewis Gross).
It’s good to negotiate thru the media if they are trying to let teams know he’s available via trade
@coldbeer – Normally a GM wouldn’t like that, as it paints the player as something of a malcontent, thereby reducing his trade value. I would suspect, though, that there might be a GM or two in the league that says, “we can make good use of his skill set, but it’ll cost you to get rid of him.”
Sandin has value. And maybe you forgot but the owners of the Leafs are media companies so please don’t tell me they don’t use that to every ounce of advantage they can get out of it. That’s why things have been dead quiet all off-season.
Sanding clearly doesn’t see himself In the lineup every night so It’s probably time for both parties to move on.
Why? He has no arb rights so Leafs will trade him when they get the right deal. No rush and if it doesn’t materialize then he’ll sign for 1 year at Liljegren $
Dude’s overrated anyway. Bye bye!
Yeah, Dubas IS over rated.
Trade him, sure he has potential and will be a solid nhl dman. But he’s small, we can’t afford more small dman. He is LH, we don’t need LH dmen, we up against the cap and can’t afford him, we could potentially get another young forward with some size (which we desperately need)
So for me the choices are simple, stop with the back n forth in the media which could hurt his trade value like we have seen in the past. Stop hesitating and git-r-done
The Leafs are the best soap opera in hockey!