The structure of Rasmus Sandin’s next deal is becoming increasingly clear

Training camp is getting closer and closer Rasmus Sandin remains without a contract.

The RFA defender has not been signed for weeks and there are no clear signs a solution is coming anytime soon. His agent Lewis Gross said the negotiations had gotten nowhere, and that’s still true nearly a month later.

It remains to be seen when the two parties will agree on a new deal, or if it can be done before the game begins. Meanwhile, his rivals are beginning to sign their respective renewals and the market for Sandin’s next deal is becoming increasingly apparent.

Hearing about Sean Durzi’s new deal with #LAKings is 2 years x $1.7 million.@DailyFaceoff

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 15, 2022

Sean Durzi is the latest RFA defender to be signed and his new deal can be seen as a benchmark for Sandin’s next deal. He is the third defender to be signed in the past week, with all three deals sharing a similar length and salary structure:

While Durzi has only one NHL season under his belt while the rest have participated in at least three, all four have played in roughly the same number of NHL games and produced offensively at comparable pace.

That’s not limited to the three signings, as the vast majority of RFA defenders signed deals this summer with an AAV of less than $2 million. Part of this list includes Timothy Liljegrenwho received an extension that was seen as a potential indicator of what Sandin could get on his next deal.

Players who have signed for over $2 million per season are either significantly better players compared to Sandin or have been suspended for at least two years. So there’s no chance he’ll get a contract at the ballpark Noah Dobson, Eric Cernak, Jonas Siegenthaleror Mikhail Sergachev.

Related:

The long road to a Sandin contract seems necessary for both the player and the Leafs

Apart from Sandin, the only other RFA defenders who do not yet have a contract Nicolas Haag and Parker Two Spoon. the former is caught up in a contract break with the Golden Knights, while the latter are likely to sign a two-way deal. While it’s true that Hague is the only comparable lefty yet to sign as he rivals the four players above in the table (142 GP, 0.30 PPG, 53.39 xGF%) but Sandin’s party continues to lose influence in the offseason closes.

It would be remiss if I didn’t mention the rumors that Sandin is reluctant to sign because it’s not clear where in the lineup he will play and how much ice time he could get on any given night. He could easily have accepted an offer sheet from another team that would guarantee him a spot, but that has yet to happen so I think he’d probably want to stay in Toronto just as much as the team would want him to stay.

Puckpedia lists the Leafs as roughly $1.5 million over the salary cap, so it’s clear the only way to sign Sandin is through a salary dump, but there was no evidence that the Leafs would like a player Alex Kerfoot or swap Justin Holl to create some leeway. Something has to give way with training camp fast approaching because I’m sure Kyle Dubas wants to avoid another one William Nylander Location.

This has all the makings of Sandin getting a bridge deal for no more than two years and an AAV of between $1.5 million and $2 million. Given how things have turned out for both his and Liljegren’s development, this should help set them well for a bigger payday and bigger role someday Jake MuzzinTJ Brodie and Markus Giordanos contracts expire in 2024. While it will no doubt be frustrating for the Leafs’ front office to have such a large gap between signing their two young defensemen, things should be fine in the long run.

It remains to be seen when talks between Sandin and the Leafs will result in a resolution, but recent developments with fellow RFA defenders are helping to paint a picture of what his next deal could be. We’ll see how that plays out as the sense of urgency begins to increase.

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