The Toronto Maple Leafs stored busy Tuesday, buying and selling defenseman Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals, in alternate for defenseman Erik Gustafsson and a 2023 first-round draft selection.
Sandin was on the ice for Toronto’s follow in Seattle on Tuesday afternoon, when video confirmed he was escorted away from the session by a member of the Maple Leafs communications workers.
The 22-year-old blueliner was Toronto’s first-round choice (twenty ninth general) within the 2018 NHL draft. He signed a two-year, $2.8 million contract extension with the Maple Leafs in September and has posted 4 objectives and 20 factors in 52 video games this season. Sandin simply returned to the Leafs lineup on Sunday after lacking three video games with an upper-body damage.
Toronto normal supervisor Kyle Dubas has been lively forward of the commerce deadline, buying Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from St. Louis earlier this month after which buying and selling with Chicago on Monday for defenseman Jake McCabe and ahead Sam Lafferty.
Including the veteran McCabe — who has two years remaining on his contract — gave Toronto elevated depth on the blueline that may solely push Sandin — who averages 17:59 time on ice per recreation — additional down. That helped make the Maple Leafs’ younger expertise expendable to a group like Washington that is been promoting off its veterans in favor of buying picks and gamers for the longer term. The Capitals traded ahead Marcus Johansson earlier on Tuesday and despatched Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to Boston final week.
Sandin suits the invoice for the place Washington’s at now. He is a strong puck-moving defender already who does effectively in sheltered third-pairing minutes. He additionally has some time period for the Capitals to work with over the subsequent couple of seasons.
The commerce primarily allowed Toronto to recoup a first-round draft decide, after it moved one in every of the offers with St. Louis and Chicago. The decide they acquired within the Sandin deal beforehand belonged to the Boston Bruins.
The 30-year-old Gustafsson is on a one-year, $800,000 deal and could possibly be a participant Toronto flips once more earlier than the commerce deadline passes at 3 p.m. Friday.