Quoting: leafs101
but how many that are legitimately on pace to be top 4 D? Maybe Vlasic, maybe. But no young D close to Sandin. But again that's fair if you'd want to keep Dach, I just think it'd be a compelling swap for both.
Yeah. Not for CHI. We're in for the long haul and we may not have many NHL ready LHD, but we have some very promising guys in the pipeline. Vlasic, Del Mastro, Allan, Galvas, Phillips, Not to mention Stillman and Caleb Jones still have plenty to show us. They are right on pace with their development and could be breaking out as legitimate defenders as soon as next season. Honestly, I haven't seen a lot from Sandin that I like. I think he was over hyped and still gonna need a while to become what he is going to be in the NHL. I really don't think it is fair to say he is on pace for that. We just haven't seen enough yet. Plus, there is no reason for CHI to give up on Dach yet. Yeah, he didn't just bust into the league as a top line center within his first few years, so what. He was also over hyped and his development was rushed because Bowman wanted to "win now". Also, I think a lot of young players developments have been stunted because of the pandemic and a lot of established players took a step back because of it. It's gonna take a while for a lot of people to get back to normal, and not just in hockey. For instance, everyone is down on Toews and thinks he is done, but I still think he can play at a high level and he needs a bit of time. Regardless, he didn't have as bad of a season as everyone makes it seem and he definitely made huge strides in his offensive game as the season went on.
Anyway, I could come up with rationale all day, but I just don't think there is any reason for CHI to go after a guy like Sandin right now. And TOR is probably better off sticking with him.