And he will be as lets be real other than the top pair the bottom 2 pairings will probs each play 18-20minutes a night

As when you got Giordano your gonna get more minutes then what a normal third pairing will play. Like Lybushkin played with Rielly but was on the ice for less time then Sandin

Like honestly if he practices I wouldnt be surprised if the second pairing is Muzzin-Sandin

Commence the offersheet.

He absolutely has and he is 100% percent right. Rielly is locked up forever and Muzzin is here (unless traded, which is what I prefer).

I don’t blame Sandin for potentially wanting out. I can see his rationale for possible not meeting his full potential in a Leaf uni

Feel like they will trade him before it gets to that

Problem is he wont sign one

CJ and Friedman mentioned he wants to be a Leaf and doubt he signs one if offered

He wants to make it work but also wants to ensure hes not in the press box I get that as what 22 year old who knows he can be an NHL regular wouldnt think that

The simple solution to that is hes gonna learn to play his offside like Dermott did or as seen from other Dman in the NHL

And the good news is if he adapts than he can take his game to a whole other level

If not you go to Rielly and say congratulations you are now a LW or RD

Fine.
Trade it is.

Sandin (extended at 6 x 4.5m) + Campbell signing rights for Blackwood + pick 37.
Who says no?

They need a young established roster player coming back, ideally a C.

You will probably hate it but:

Sandin for Mercer

You're right.
I hate it.

Suppose Devils could dangle Boqvist here, but he wouldn't be suitable as anything other than 3C.
Also, doesn't Dubas love his 2nd rd picks?

Toronto

Were in win now and gambling on Blackwood is not ideal

Now if Hellebuyck was available I would be looking that direction as thats a goalie you know can take you places

Other consideration would be Kirby Dach

I’ll be honest, if Kyle decides that a keeping 33 and 38 year old defenseman was more important than a 22 year old D, and trades Sandin, this will be the 1st offseason my love of Dubas will die a little bit.

Well, whether Muzzin stays this season or not is pretty much out of Dubas's hands.
He's committed to Gio with that extension.
And then there's that Reilly extension...

I don't know how attached Sandin is to the idea of him remaining a Leaf, how inclined he is to accept a team-friendly deal, duking it out with Holl for a spot at the third pair or even playing his offside.
But with this context, I can't help but thinking that there's gonna be a lot of friction between the player and the front office until (if) they can settle on a contract.
I guess my point is that this has all the markings of being a situation other GM's would be looking to influence the outcome of.

The flyers would be insane to give up pick 5 + for Debrincat and he’d be stupid to sign long term.

Jake DeBrusk has rescinded his trade request from the #NHLBruins, per @TSNRyanRishaug. He’s happy to remain a Bruin going forward.

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) July 4, 2022

Coaching change changed his mind Im guessing

Holl's gone its pretty evident hes being traded especially with Liligren's emergence and Lybushkin pretty much being better (if he extends that is)

Doubt Montgomery will be much better because of well his past

I don’t think it’s a forgone conclusion that Holl is gone. They protected him in the expansion draft, he plays top 4min, plays a ton of pk mins and makes 2mil.

probably nj. that contract is a bit excessive for sandin

sandin for crouse if the leafs end up having room.

Really?
Maybe I'm a bigger fan of his game than most, but I think Sandin is a lock to be an above average 2nd pairing guy when he enters his prime in 2-3 years, if not an outright #2 or #3 defender on a top 10 team in the NHL.
If it were up to me, I wouldn't hesitate for a second signing Sandin to such a contract.

This is a pretty terrible take. There’s a reason guys typically don’t play their off side, and that’s because they’re usually much better on their strong side. There’s a reason there’s only like 5 guys in the league that regularly play their off side in top 4 minutes effectively. And demanding that a talented rookie figure it out and play a position he’s never played before (and is more difficult than his usual position) is not the right way to develop players. It doesn’t show that he doesn’t want to take his game to the next level, it just shows that he doesn’t want to be thrust into a role destined for failure. It would make a lot more sense to move a guy like Rielly or Muzzin to their off side to get the rookie set up for success, but they’re not gonna do that because even though they are established top 4 guys, they are not good on their off side either. If you have problems with a guy who was drafted and developed to play a position wanting to play that position, you should trade him before you ruin his career. His belief is totally justified, and you literally just confirmed it with this comment.

“it’s not set up for him to have a fair shot on his strong side” - Sandin’s concern

“there is a spot, just not on his strong side” - you

???????

Agreed.

You’re basically asking Sandin to:

A) play a position you may be bad at and therefore EARN LESS MONEY potentially if you’re on a bridge - wink wink *we for sure aren’t tryna to pay you less*
B) play a more difficult role on the team and do well and earn a decent deal (if he’s on a bridge) - WINK WINK
C) lowest probability, perform insanely well

I know he needs a deal but I don’t think the Leafs are gonna offer much term unless he takes a low AAV; so basically if he’s gonna sign for 1-2 years playing him in a weaker position is realistically a win win for the Leafs and a risk for Sandin.

All this on a young still developing player. I would rather develop a strong LD then stagnate his positional development in return for a “want”, rather than a need. You need good LD, you don’t need a flexible D (D= LD/RD).

Jesus f*ck. Did you not have this conversation with him before resigning Giordano?

yea. to date he hasn't really proved anything and is probably only worth what lilegren got. which means you're valuing his last 4 years as $6m years. maybe he gets that but $6m for 4 years is a lot for an rfa defenseman.

In general Sandin is a LD who is still growing into the game

My one big concern his injuries

3 knee injuries and a shoulder injury in 2 years is concerning

Also his size and inability to clear bodies in front of the net is concerning

To me you give Sandin a 1.4mill bridge and he plays his offside and once Muzzin and Brodie retire in 2 years then you hand him that nice 4-5mill contract

My two cents on the Sandin issue.

Muzzin plus a pick for Bailey would solve all issues here.

Probably helps NYI, too.

Honestly the solution to the Sandin ironically is simple and it helps fill in another hole

That solution move Rielly to the Wing

As if you look at how Rielly plays and the concerns that people have about him being a Dman

All that can be fixed by moving him to LW/RW

As then you can see the following team

Rielly-Matthews-Marner
Bunting-Tavares-Nylander
Engvall-Kampf-Kase
Whoever on the 4th line

Muzzin-Brodie
Sandin-?
Giordano-Liligren

Or you go to Rielly and say are you willing to play RD. And knowing him he would probs do it if it meant keeping Sandin

As Rielly got his contract, has shown he can play both sides, and I believe Muzzin-Rielly or Giordano-Rielly wouldnt be a bad idea