My Thoughts on Rasmus Sandin: (Sandin Signed)
Photo From The Hockey News
UPDATE: The contract hold out has ended because at 9:30 this morning Rasmus Sandin and Kyle Dubas have signed the dotted line and agreed to a 2 year deal paying Rasmus 1.4 million dollars per season. According to Kyle Sandin is expected to see game action next week. Also once this deal expires Sandin will still remain an RFA but his qualifying offer will be valued at 1.6 million dollars.
Way back at the end of June I wrote about
the Leafs extending Timothy Liljegren on a two-year contract with a yearly
value of 1.4 million dollars. In that same article I said that I believed
Rasmus Sandin would be signed on a similar deal in the coming days. That was in
June and here we are in the final week of September, training camp is a week
old and there’s no Sandin. In the summer the Leafs were reported to have
offered both a one-year deal, a qualifying offer at around $860,000 approximately.
Sandin turned that deal down understandably because he wants a multi year deal
which is fine, we have beaten the teams cap issues into the ground and everyone
is aware of them so in a deal that Kyle Dubas is fair for both the team and the
player he offered Sandin the same contract as Liljegren but Sandin wants anywhere
between two million and two and a half million so he turned Toronto’s second
offer down. This is where I have a problem. See, Liljegren signed his deal at a
low AAV because he wants to help the team so that they can remain competitive but
the main reason and most important reason is Liljegren has only played 74
regular season games and isn’t in any position to demand a big money contract
so he signed this deal to prove himself and show that he has the ability to be
a key defenseman for this club. Sandin isn’t getting the offer he and his agent
would like so they have decided to stay home and not attend camp. We Leaf fans
have seen this before when William Nylander held out waiting for a contract and
he didn’t sign untill literally the final hour risking missing the entire 18-19
season. I mention that because Nylander and Sandin share the same agent, so he
is in my opinion trying to play the same tactic because he thinks if it worked
for Nylander it’ll work for Sandin. Willy got ripped to shreds by this fanbase
because of frustration but I really think fans are too busy crying wanting him
to be traded because so many talking heads on tv say so. Readers please remember
one thing, the talking heads on tv aren’t in NHL front offices anymore because maybe
they aren’t that good anymore, So take literally everything they say with a
grain of salt better yet just keep the bag of salt with you because more fans
need to study numbers and actually watch games to form their own opinion
instead of reading what the Toronto Sun puts in their paper and think it’s
right. Nylander in my opinion is worth every penny and his numbers back that
up.
For Sandin though I think he needs a
reality check for his agent the feel his player is worth two million plus per
year I say you realize Rasmus has only played in 88 regular season games in his
career, right?? Don’t get me wrong Sandin is a very skilled player, and his
game has plenty of upside but the two-year deal at 1.4 million a year to me is
more then fair for Sandin because like Liljegren he needs to prove his worth
but also be patient. There was also a report by one of the many Leaf reporters
that stated money isn’t the issue for Sandin apparently his concern is wear is
ranks on the depth chart. We all know the team is currently over the cap and it’s
likely that if Sandin was signed and at camp that Justin Holl would be the odd
man out. Rasmus don’t lie money is priority number one for you because you want
to be paid what you feel you’re worth because if money wasn’t your focus, then
you would be at camp preparing for the upcoming season with the rest of your
teammates.
Throughout the summer it was suggested that
maybe Toronto package Sandin in a trade or trade him separately and I saw
someone comment saying, and I quote “All they would get is a 4th round pick so
trading him would be stupid for Dubas.” Seeing that confused me because this is
a fan base that was outraged because Dubas declined a trade for Zach Hyman that
would give the team a 6th round pick. With the fans being angry at
not trading Hyman for a 6th rounder and then seeing the fans be
angry for only getting a late round pick if Sandin was traded is just one of
the many reasons as to why Leaf fans are the most frustrating people in the
world.
I said it then and I’ll say it now Dubas
was right in refusing a 6th round pick for Zach Hyman because Hyman
was more valuable than a late draft pick. Kyle Dubas has a reputation of caving
in and giving his players what they want and so for this deal to not be worked
out yet is a good thing for Kyle. He has dug his heels into the ground and has
left the decision up to Rasmus. The Sandin hold out is only going to hurt the
player and his performance because whenever a solution is reached in terms of preparation
Sandin will be miles behind his teammates. Do I think a resolution will be
reached in this situation? Of course, I do but for the time being the team is
fine for the time being because they have the depth and the players available
to fill in if Sandin wants to stay in Sweden. If I was General Manager and I’m
negotiating with a player on a deal I would remind them, you are under team
control for a few years here is my offer that I feel is fair for both sides if
you want to miss out on an opportunity that’s fine our games are shown on TSN
and Sportsnet enjoy watching from the couch.
Rasmus and his agent need to realize he is
still an up-and-coming player on the team’s blue line and with only 88 games
under his belt he still needs to prove his game is progressing and he can be
another player the team can rely on.
That’s all for this one thanks for reading
but for now all we can do is wait and see what happens regarding Rasmus Sandin
while the Leafs are currently 1-1 in the preseason preparing for a matchup tomorrow
night against Montreal where we will get to see Matt Murray in goal for the
first time.
Just another greedy agent trying to line his pockets by overvaluing a player. Let him sit and see how much money he loses.
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