Rasmus Sandin signed a five-year, $23 million contract with the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. It has an average annual value of $4.6 million and begins next season.
The defenseman, who turns 24 on Thursday, is in the final season of a two-year, $2.8 million contract ($1.4 million AAV) he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sept. 29, 2022, and could have become a restricted free agent July 1.
"I'm very excited," Sandin said ."I'm very happy it got done at this time too, even though we have a lot of time left to work with. But very happy it got done and very excited to be here for ultimately five more years."
Sandin said discussions had been ongoing for a while but picked up recently.
"I think we started a conversation a while back a little bit," he said. "I've been trying to focus on the season and playing good hockey and get points here for the team, and I think the last couple days it picked up and got done pretty quick."
Sandin has 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 52 games this season, and his average ice time of 21:19 is second on the Capitals after defenseman John Carlson (25:51). He's second to Carlson among Washington defensemen in goals, assists and points.
In two seasons with the Capitals, Sandin has 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) in 71 games. He was acquired by Washington from Toronto for defenseman Erik Gustafsson and a first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft (No. 28, Easton Cowan) on Feb. 28, 2023.
"It all started really a year ago when I got here," Sandin said. "It really felt like the organization really believed in me, and I love this organization and just living here. Very excited to get that extension."
Carlson said he knew Sandin would be a good addition not long after he played his first game with Washington.
"You could obviously tell from the beginning when we got him what he's capable of and the assets that he brings and the way he moves the puck, which I think is imperative in the game nowadays," he said. "It's been nice to watch him grow in other areas of his game. You can see now the confidence is building. It's something that he's really going to blossom."
Selected by the Maple Leafs in the first round (No. 29) of the 2018 NHL Draft, Sandin has 83 points (16 goals, 57 assists) in 211 regular-season games with the Maple Leafs and Capitals, and one goal in five Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Capitals (28-23-9) are seven points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division and the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They play at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, MNMT).
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report
