3 Options If the Toronto Maple Leafs Have to Trade Rasmus Sandin

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to re-sign Rasmus Sandin, which means a trade could happen any day now.

Trading Rasmus Sandin would be a terrible decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it may be their best option.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a Leafs player take their time in re-signing with the Leafs. Over the past few years, big-name’s such as William Nylander and Mitch Marner have taken their sweet time to re-sign, and now both contracts look team-friendly.

Say what you want about Marner’s near $11M deal, but it’s an underrated contract. Marner has been the best right-winger in the NHL for the past two seasons so he deserves every dollar he’s making.

As for Sandin, what is waiting for and who does he think he is?

Why is he waiting so long to re-sign with the team when he only has 88 games of NHL experience? I know he was a former first-round pick and has potential to be a long-time top-four defenseman, but how much money is he really worth right now?

If the two sides can’t come to an agreement before training camp, it may make more sense to trade the youngster. He’s still a fantastic asset and packaging him in a deal, or even trading him straight up will allow the organization to receive someone great in return.

As such, here are three potential trades involving Rasmus Sandin:

DETROIT, MICHIGAN – MARCH 08: Jakob Chychrun #6 of the Arizona Coyotes skates against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on March 08, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

No. 1: Jakob Chychrun

Hypothetical Trade:

Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Jakob Chychrun
Arizona Coyotes acquire: Rasmus Sandin, Alex Steeves, 2023 1st Round Pick, 2024 2nd Round Pick

If you could trade for a 24-year-old puck-moving defenseman, who’s scored 18 goals in a season before, you’d at least try, right?

What if that same player only made $4.6M and is under contract for the next three seasons?

Yeah, you’d run to the phone and call the Arizona Coyotes immediately and try to trade for Jakob Chychrun. If Kyle Dubas isn’t doing everything he can to acquire him, then he’s making a huge mistake.

At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Chychrun not only has size, but he has a ton of potential to improve. He’s had some injury concerns over his career thus far, but if he can stay healthy, he can eventually be a top-pairing NHL defenseman.

The Coyotes are terrible and will continue to be bad for a few years. Obviously a young defenseman like Chychrun helps the rebuild, but a younger and less experience player in Sandin may work just as well for them.

Toronto would really benefit by going all-in by trading for Chychrun.

Apr 16, 2022; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Kraken defenseman Adam Larsson (6) takes a shot against the New Jersey Devils at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 2: Adam Larsson

Hypothetical Trade:

Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Adam Larsson
Seattle Kraken acquire: Rasmus Sandin

Another team that isn’t going to be any good anytime soon is the Seattle Kraken. Unlike the Vegas Golden Knights, Seattle is taking the traditional approach when it comes to expansion and is building around drafting and development.

By the time Seattle is potentially any good, Larsson’s contract will be up (he has three years left) and he could be on the decline of his career. The 29-year-old has a no-trade-clause, so he’d have to agree to it, but if he was looking to win, a Larsson for Sandin trade could work.

Long-term, the Leafs would definitely be losing this long-term trade. However, at the same time, Sandin only has 88 games of experience, so who are we to know he’ll be a top-four defenseman for the next decade, guaranteed?

Larsson, on the other hand, has 685 games of NHL experience and has shown his capabilities as a defensive top-four defenseman.

The right-handed shooting defenseman could jump into the top-six and could help provide some stability for Toronto’s defensive-group. Adding Larsson could help push TJ Brodie to the left-side and push Jake Muzzin out the door, which could help the overall group, or it could instead initiate a Justin Holl trade, which wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

Either way, trading for Larsson would give the Leafs another player with cap-security ($4M AAV x 3 years) and would help solve a hole if Sandin is unwilling to re-sign.

Mar 16, 2022; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; New Jersey Devils defenseman Damon Severson (28) controls the puck against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 3: Damon Severson

Hypothetical Trade:

Toronto Maple Leafs acquire: Damon Severson
New Jersey Devils acquire: Rasmus Sandin, Nick Abruzzese, 2024 2nd Round Pick

This is a shot-in-the-dark in terms of trade potentials, but the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs have been known to do business in the past.

With Severson as a pending UFA, if the team doesn’t think they can re-sign him, they may want to trade him to secure an asset before he leaves for nothing. What better asset to get in return than a 22-year-old defenseman with top-four potential?

By trading Sandin for Severson, it would only guarantee one-year of Severson’s availability, but when you’re in a win-now mode, that’s fine. You need to put your chips into the middle every single time you have a chance to win, and having Severson over Sandin would improve the roster.

The right-handed shooting defenseman has been a solid point-producer over his career, and has good size at 6-foot-2, 205 pounds. The former Kelowna Rockets star has lived up to his potential of being a top-four defenseman and has done so, playing on a terrible Devils team.

If he played in Toronto, in a better system, on a better roster, there’s no doubt his game would only improve and he’d be a steal at just over $4M AAV.

Next. Maybe the Leafs Should Keep Justin Holl?. dark

As previously mentioned, the best case scenario is to re-sign Sandin, but if the two sides can’t agree on a deal, trading him and getting someone like Severson in return would be a huge win.

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