Capitals' Rasmus Sandin Excited to Take on Close Friend William Nylander and Maple Leafs for the First Time: 'It's Going To Be A Lot of Fun'
The Maple Leafs traded Sandin to the Capitals back in February.
ARLINGTON, Va. — Rasmus Sandin will try and approach his first meeting against the Toronto Maple Leafs but admitted that it might not be easy with so many friends playing on the other team.
"It's going to be a lot of fun and it'll be extra special," Sandin said following the Washington Capitals' practice at MedStar Iceplex on Monday.
The Swedish defenseman got together with William Nylander among other former teammates on Sunday when the Leafs arrived from Tampa following their 4-3 victory.
Sandin and Nylander were close when the two were teammates in Toronto, having lived together for almost their entire tenure together. And the 23-year defenseman is hoping he'll know exactly what to say or do to get under the Maple Leafs forward's skin.
Sandin wouldn't share his secrets, but Nylander wasn't buying any of it.
"He tries to but he can’t," Nylander said with a smile following Leafs practice. "I just let him be,
Sandin's tenure with the Leafs was up and down. Before his final season, the defenseman was involved in late and lengthy contract talks that forced him to miss part of the Leafs 2022 training camp. He eventually signed a two-year, $2.8 million deal.
On Feb. 28, the club traded him to the Capitals in exchange for veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson (now with the New York Rangers) and the Boston Bruins; a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (Easton Cowan). The trade broke as the Leafs were on the ice for practice and Sandin was pulled midway through when he was informed of the news.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdxDN4r8JVk[/embed]
"Being friends and kind of living with each other for a long time obviously was tough," Nylander said of that day. "We had such a big Swedish group and two guys got traded on the same day, so that was a new experience for me."
That same day, the Leafs traded Swedish forward Pierre Engvall to the New York Islander in exchange for a third-round pick.
At the end of practice, cameras caught Nylander consoling a shocked Sandin.
"He's one of my best friends. Just sharing that last little bit as teammates together was special for sure," Sandin said of that moment. "I'm glad you guys had it on video too. It's something I look back on a little bit. It's going to be fun facing him tomorrow for the first time in the NHL."
Sandin went from a player that was used sparingly toward the end of his tenure in Toronto to playing in a top-pair role alongside John Carlsson. It looks like that will shift for Tuesday's game as Sandin skated with Trevor van Riemsdyk on Monday.
The 2018 first-round NHL Draft pick has fully embraced his new home in Washington. It also helps that his new head coach is former Maple Leafs assistant Spencer Carbery.
"The time here has been nothing but unbelievable and I love it here," Sandin said. "I’ll always look back on Toronto and think about what a good time I had here."
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