Toronto Maple Leafs Welcome the Return of Rasmus Sandin
Defenseman Rasmus Sandin is returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he is returning when they need him the most.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed defenseman Timothy Liljegren on June 27th for two years at $1.4 million a season, it was reported that Toronto made the same offer to Sandin, but he declined.
In July, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet suggested that Ethan Bear’s contract ($2.2 million) is close to what Sandin is seeking. (Salary cap information from capfriendly.com)
Two days ago, after a spat of injuries on the Leafs blue line, Sandin saw that his opportunity to play every night was there for the taking, and he agreed to sign for the Leafs original offer, which is pretty much the same as Liljegren’s.
Toronto has several defensemen missing time due to injury right now. Liljegren will be out for six weeks after a hernia operation. Jake Muzzin has missed parts of training camp with back soreness but looks to be returning to the lineup. During Wednesday’s preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto lost two more defensemen in Jordie Benn (groin) and Carl Dahlstrom (shoulder). Both of them will miss some time.
Toronto Maple Leafs Welcome Back Rasmus Sandin
With a depleted defense, Toronto is happy to welcome back Sandin.
During his negotiations, Sandin was staying in Sweden. He will be back in Toronto this weekend to begin practicing with his teammates. The team hopes to get Sandin into the remaining preseason games.
The Toronto Maple Leafs next preseason game will be on Monday, October 3rd. After that, Toronto will play back-to-back games against the Detroit Red Wings on October 7th and 8th to finish the preseason. Hopefully, three games and a few practices will be enough for Sandin to be ready for the start of the regular season on October 12th.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs current injuries and the likelihood that Muzzin will be ready for opening night, Toronto’s defense could look like this to start the season.
Morgan Rielly – T.J. Brodie
Jake Muzzin – Justin Holl
Rasmus Sandin – Mark Giordano
But will Muzzin be ready to go? Is it in fact Giordano who will play the right side? The Leafs have been having Morgan Rielly take reps on the right side, which is sensible because the Leafs have four left-handed defenseman who should be in the lineup every night, which means someone has to play their off-side.
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Despite all the injuries, if Muzzin is ready to go, then Liljegren is the only regular injured. Victor Mete is likely to start the season as the seventh defenseman, since a lot of their depth has already been taxed and they’ll lose him if they send him down. With all the injuries, cap space likely won’t be an issue to start the season.