The Toronto Maple Leafs have made another move.
After adding Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe, and Sam Lafferty in two separate trades well ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, the Leafs shipped Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Erik Gustafsson and a first-round pick in the 2023 draft…
Gustafsson was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the third round of the 2012 draft but never signed a contract with the team. He wound up inking a two-year, entry-level deal with the Chicago Blackhawks as an unrestricted free agent in May of 2015 following some strong seasons in Sweden’s top league.
After spending a few years playing between the Blackhawks and their AHL affiliate, Gustafsson put together a breakout season in 2018-19, scoring 17 goals and 60 points over 79 games. His offensive production dipped the following season and he was traded to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a third-round pick ahead of the trade deadline in February of 2020.
Gustafsson bounced around the last few years from Calgary to Philadelphia to Montreal and back to Chicago, but he’s found his groove again this season as a member of the Washington Capitals. He inked a one-year, $800k deal with the Capitals back in July and has scored 38 points over the course of 61 games while logging an average of 20:22 per game.
The first-round pick that Toronto is getting in the deal is the one that the Boston Bruins recently traded to Washington as part of the package that netted the team Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway.
Sandin was selected with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2018 draft and he emerged as an effective NHL defender last season. Through 140 games in his career with the Leafs, Sandin has scored 10 goals and 48 points while logging an average of 16:40 per game.
Sandin is signed for this season and next at a $1.4 million salary cap hit and is eligible to become a restricted free agent following the 2023-24 season. The Leafs will save $600k in salary cap room by swapping Sandin for Gustafsson.
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