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The only piece of business left for the Toronto Maple Leafs prior to the start of training camp is getting Rasmus Sandin signed, but with less than a month to go before the opening of training camp, the club and the restricted free agent defenseman have not made any progress towards a new deal.
According to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox, Sandin’s agent Lewis Gross says that negotiations between the two sides are going nowhere. The Leafs currently are over the $82.5 million salary cap and have seven defensemen under contract for next season, leaving the 22-year-old blueliner and his camp wondering what his role will be.
"Negotiating contracts via the media have an adverse impact on player (and) team reputation and traditionally do not create resolutions to private matters," Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said in response to Gross's comments.
The situation is a bit of a standoff between Toronto and the 2018 first-round pick. Sandin has shown flashes of being an effective NHL defenseman, but injury issues have plagued him the last two seasons. Reportedly, the Leafs offered a bridge deal similar to the two-year, $2.8 million contract that fellow Swede Timothy Liljegren signed, but with Morgan Rielly, Jake Muzzin, and Mark Giordano all projected to play the left side, Sandin’s place in the lineup is not defined.
This standoff is likely to extend into September, as the odds of an offer sheet are remote and the Leafs hope to pressure Sandin to get signed, since a holdout will be counterproductive. While there are no guarantees, it is probable that Toronto will not choose to make a corresponding move (like trading Justin Holl) until they have Sandin under contract.
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The 2022 IIHF World Junior ended prematurely for Team USA, with the top seed in Group B falling 4-2 to Czechia in the quarterfinal on Wednesday. For Leafs prospect Matthew Knies, the tournament did not live up to expectations.
Knies did have three assists in five games for the US playing on a line with first-rounders Logan Cooley and Matt Coronato, but a factor in his performance could have been fatigue after an excellent freshman year at Minnesota, making the US Olympic squad in Beijing, and impressing in the Frozen Four for the Golden Gophers, camps prior to the WJC in December and this month, as well as the Leafs Development Camp last month.
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The Toronto Marlies announced the signing of forward Brandon Kruse to a one-year AHL contract on Thursday. The 23-year-old played four seasons at Bowling Green University after being selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft by Vegas, and appeared in 38 games with Boston College (NCAA) this past season, recording 26 points (3 goals, 23 assists). The Golden Knights passed on signing Kruse to an entry-level deal after a three-game tryout in the AHL.
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