The veteran defenseman had not skated with his teammates since training camp opened on Sept. 21 Rasmus Sandin is returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs after a summer-long negotiation process cam to an end on Thursday. The team announced that they signed the restricted free-agent to a two-year contract with $2.8 million. The deal is identical in both term and average annual value that the club signed fellow Swede defenseman Timothy Liljegren to earlier in the summer. According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the club was not willing to make a deal at a higher value than the one Liljegren received. According to TSN hockey insider Pierre LeBrun, the deal will pay Sandin $1.2 million in 2022-23, followed by $1.6 million in 2023-24. With the higher salary in year two, Sandin will have a larger qualifying offer threshold ($1.6 million) when the deal expires and he becomes a restricted free agent. Unlike this time around, he’ll be eligible for arbitration should it be necessary. Sandin’s return comes a time when the Maple Leafs are battling with several injuries. “This morning, Rasmus Sandin and Lewis Gross reached out to us and informed us that after watching our game last night and seeing more injuries accrued by our defence, that they wanted to get this locked in today so Rasmus could get over to Toronto and help his teammates,” Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas said in a statement. “We appreciate Rasmus and his camp taking that step today to get this contract done and allow him the time to ready for the final preseason games. “As stated throughout this process, Rasmus is a key member of the present and future of your team and we are excited today that he is en route to Toronto to ready for Opening Night in Montreal.” Liljegren is out until mid-November after undergoing hernia surgery before training camp began on Sept. 21. Defensemen Jamie Benn (groin) and Carl Dahlstrom (shoulder) were injured in the first period of the team’s 3-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. Sandin should see a bit of an increased role now given the opportunity in front of him. Defenseman Jake Muzzin is also day-to-day, but did take part in his first training camp with his teammates on Wednesday. Sandin had five goals and 16 assists in 51 games last season. He injured his knee in mid-March and missed the remainder of the regular season. He recovered in time for the playoffs, but was into selected into the lineup by Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe during the team’s opening-round playoff exit to the Tampa Bay Lightning last spring.
