Given the Toronto Maple Leafs challenges with cap space, do they have to worry about an offer sheet for Rasmus Sandin?
Add in the presence of Jake Muzzin, Mark Giordano and Morgan Rielly, it seems reasonable to be concerned with his future as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization.
Right now, you’d have to imagine he’s an absolute prime target for teams that are willing to overpay slightly to offer-sheet him and the frustrating place the Leafs are in means they may not instantly match a deal.
Looking to the offer sheet calculator at Cap Friendly, a deal upwards of $2.1 million and below $4.2 million (based on average annual value) is all it will take.
Toronto Maple Leafs and Rasmus Sandin
Now assuming the Toronto Maple Leafs are only hoping to pay around that $2 million mark; as another team, I’m more than willing to push it up to $3 million and not just to mess with the Leafs cap structure.
It does seem logical that the Leafs might lose Sandin to an offer sheet.
Except for one thing: They never happen.
There hasn’t been an offer sheet in over nine years that didn’t involve the Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens, but with every day both Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren aren’t contracted to the Toronto Maple Leafs, it feels slightly more possible.
All this speculation is unlikely to result in Sandin changing teams. The Leafs biggest problem has been that they haven’t been able to develop players they drafted into stars and take advantage of the cheaper contracts doing that offers.
Sandin, unless you buy out his UFA years, is likely signing a deal that starts with the number 2, and it’s almost certainly going to be in Toronto. He could potentially work as a valuable trade chip, but that would mean passing on the chance to have a fairly cheap star defenseman in the lineup.
And make no mistake, Sandin is tracking to be a star in the NHL.
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There aren’t similar concerns with Timothy Liljegren because the right side of defense has a clearer path to the top four. He also really seemed to settle into his role last year alongside veteran Giordano.
Sandin on the other hand has to battle with the likes of Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin and now Mark Giordano; it’s very much an uphill battle even to get a spot on the bottom pairing. That might seem daunting, but the summer is long and the Leafs are far more likely to find a way to use a 23 year old potential star, than they are to lose him in order to keep a player with two recent concussions.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are unlikely to lose Rasmus Sandin, but they are far more likely to trade him than to see him leave on an offer sheet. With the likes of Mrazek, Kerfoot and Holl combining to make over $9 million, the Leafs won’t have trouble finding the cap space.