Leafs trade Rasmus Sandin!

This just in, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman the Toronto Maple Leafs have traded defenseman Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals in exchange for veteran defenseman Erik Gustafsson and a 1st round pick.

Check it out:

More to come on this developing story.

Really scratching my head to make sense of this trade from both sides.

Sandin is just 22 years old and has been solid for the Leafs this season with four goals and 20 points in 52 games. He was selected in the 1st round (29th overall) by the Leafs back in 2018. After years of patience in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies, Sandin finally looked to be rounding into form... and now... boom... he's gone.

As for Gustafsson, he's just 30 years old and has been very solid for the Capitals this season. He has seven goals and 38 points in 61 games, which is a far cry from the crazy 60 point season that he put up with the Chicago Blackhawks back in 2018-19. He's on an expiring contract that pays him just $800,000. For what it's worth Sandin earns nearly double what Gustafsson earns with a salary of $1.4 million.

The 1st round pick in the deal belongs to the Boston Bruins, so it's liable to be a late round pick, but a 1st round pick will always hold value in the NHL regardless of how late it is in the opening round. The Leafs, of course, traded their own 1st round pick to the St. Louis Blues earlier this month in a blockbuster deal with the St. Louis Blues for Ryan O'Reilly. With today's deal though, GM Kyle Dubas gets his team back into the 1st round of this summer's draft. Unless, of course, he elects to package this pick up in another trade between now and Friday's NHL trade deadline. Dubas did manage to free up some cap space with the Sandin deal and scored himself a trade chip with the pick, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's got another trick up his sleeve. Stay tuned, Leafs Nation.