Sandin sure would like to play a game
Head coach says ‘there’s some growth to be had’ in habits of the taxi squad blueliner
Evidently fed up with hearing about how they’re stifling the development of 20-year-old defenceman Rasmus Sandin, the Maple Leafs fired a few shots of their own in Sandin’s direction on Monday.
Sure, head coach Sheldon Keefe expressed a certain amount of sympathy for the plight of the promising 2018 first-round pick who hasn’t played in a hockey game in 328 days and counting. And Keefe went out of his way to insist he has “no doubt” that Sandin will emerge as an “everyday NHL player.” The problem is, with Sandin currently slotted as the eighth defenceman on Toronto’s depth chart — and with the Leafs dressing, at most, seven defenceman a night — the coach is loathe to say precisely when that day will come. In the interim, Keefe levelled some not-so-veiled criticism at Sandin, calling into question the Swede’s work ethic and overall professionalism in the midst of a global pandemic.
“We’ve really tried to prioritize with him (the importance of ) using this time productively to maintain or really improve his work habits, and his time in the gym and his training in the gym and maturing his body and just learning what’s necessary to be an everyday NHL player, not just from a skill standpoint, but the habits that go into it,” Keefe said. “I think there’s some growth to be had there. We’ve spoken to him about that.”
Keefe continued, saying the blueliner still has plenty of off-ice learning to do: “It’s everything, when you take your gear off, what you’re doing to take care of yourself and improve yourself.”
Even if there’s some truth in Keefe’s words — because rare is the 20-year-old who is an unassailably consummate pro — it’s difficult to imagine Monday’s public talking-to went over well in Sandin’s camp. Speaking of gaping room for improvement, the Leafs clearly erred in declining to permit Sandin to play for Sweden in the world junior championship, insisting they required his services from the get-go of training camp on Jan. 3, even though the tournament wrapped up on Jan. 5. Now, along with depriving Sandin of what would have been an opportunity to dominate his peers — Sandin was named the tournament’s best defenceman the year before — the Leafs have decided to rap his knuckles with a public scolding. As if it wasn’t bad enough that Sandin was passed over for playing time in favour of Martin Marincin during the summertime play-in series loss to the Blue Jackets.
Not that you’d know any of this listening to Sandin. In a season of unrest around the NHL, where trade demands from disgruntled talent have been making headlines from Montreal to Calgary to Winnipeg, Sandin maintained a stiff upper lip during a brief Zoom media session Monday.
“I mean, it’s obviously a little frustrating,” Sandin said. “It was a very long time ago since I played a game. But we’re gonna hang in there. We’re having fun in practice. It’s great being with the guys again.”
A lot of this, to be fair, is out of the Leafs’ control. Under normal circumstances, the club would have the option of keeping Sandin sharp with the AHL Marlies. But precisely when the AHL’s Canadian division is going to begin play, nobody can say for sure.
Still, the idea that Sandin was going to be hard-pressed to get playing time barring an earlyseason injury or two wasn’t exactly difficult to see coming. It was basically inevitable the Swede was going to find himself as the eighth defenceman to begin the season, what with no pre-season games to prove himself and a truncated training camp to boot. The Leafs were locked into a top four of Morgan Rielly, T.J. Brodie, Jake Muzzin and Justin Holl. They didn’t sign a veteran depth player like 30-year-old Zach Bogosian because they’re prioritizing development. And 24-year-old Travis Dermott, for all his stumbles, was essentially a lock on the third pair given he has played 128 more NHL games than Sandin.
On top of all that, the Leafs are essentially obligated to prioritize the ice time of freeagent newcomer Mikko Lehtonen ahead of Sandin, at least for a while. Lehtonen, after all, was a highly coveted commodity when the Leafs successfully recruited him from the KHL. So it’s important for any reputable organization, if it’s going to maintain its reputation for integrity in such negotiations, to follow through on its promises to players coming over from the continent. It’s hard to imagine they sold Lehtonen on Toronto with the promise of a season-long seat in the press box.
And, heck, given that Lehtonen has only played in four of Toronto’s 10 games — and given that he’s averaging less than 10 minutes a night while making cameo appearances as the second-unit power-play quarterback — Lehtonen could easily make the case he’s the one getting the short end of the stick so far this season. Still, here’s the truth: The idea that Lehtonen is going to establish himself as an NHL regular without serious grooming is far-fetched. European scouts will tell you he struggled to defend in the KHL last season. At five-on-five in the NHL so far, he’s a statistical mess, complete with some of the worst underlying numbers in the league.
But therein lies the problem. If he’s going to get a fair shake, Lehtonen is going to need time. Ditto Dermott. Which means, unless there’s an injury or two — or until one of Lehtonen or Dermott plays himself out of the lineup — Sandin probably sits.
Give Sandin credit: He appears well aware that it would be unhelpful to his situation to grouse about his stunted career arc with the Leafs sitting atop the Canadian division standings.
“I mean, right now, we’ve been playing pretty well as a group … so it’s hard to get some changes (to the lineup) when that happens,” he said.
Keefe, along with sending Sandin a public message, attempted to spin the situation positively Monday. Of all the players who’ve spent much of the season on the team’s “stayready” squad, the coach said, Sandin, at least, is getting regular reps at practice.
“I have no doubt he’s going to be an everyday NHL player. But we need to be as prepared as possible when that happens. And you need patience,” Keefe said. “He’s not the only one who’s going through this. Whether it’s our organization or other organizations around the league, there’s a lot of players that want to play that aren’t. So he’s got to remain patient and take advantage of every day he is with the NHL team and he does have a chance to learn and skate with NHL players.”
Here’s betting Sandin, if he’s being honest, sees it all as cold comfort. When it comes to valuable NHL game experience, after all, there is no substitute. And right now, the Leafs seem convinced their defensive corps doesn’t need a substitution.