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 6^th round pick. With the fans being angry at not trading Hyman for a 6^th 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 6^th 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.