From Alexeyev to Wilson, we’re taking a look at and grading the 2023-24 season for every player who laced ‘em up for the Washington Capitals for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2024-25. Next up, Rasmus Sandin.
The Bio:
#38 | Defense | Shoots: Left
Height: 5’11” | Weight: 183 | Born: March 7, 2000
Birthplace: Uppsala, Sweden | Acquired: Traded to Washington on February 28, 2023
Cap Hit: $4,600,000 | Signed Through: 2028-29 | Expiry Status: Unrestricted Free Agent
The Scouting Report (via CapFriendly):
Report: November 2023 | Rating: 85 | Projection: Second Pair
- Has evolved into a solid second pairing ‘D’ who can be used in the top pairing if required.
- 2-Way / Transitional ‘D’ who distributes and joins the rush as an extra layer.
- In the defensive zone he will surprise opponents, occasionally, by gapping up and finishing his checks with authority. Rotates well into shooting lanes to block shots.
- Averages over 23:00 TOI. Bulk of his TOI comes at ES and PP. Some secondary PK.
- Leans distributor more than shooter in the offensive zone.
The Stats:
The Charts:
The Key Stat: Rasmus Sandin ranked second among Washington defensemen in TOI per game with 21:07 behind John Carlson, who gets more special teams time (and also just skates a ridiculous amount of minutes every night). This was also the highest single-season average of his career so far.
The Good: Sandin seemed to adjust to Washington’s system well this season, especially with the arrival of Spencer Carbery behind the bench. While Sandin’s total TOI per game was second on the Capitals’ blueline, he actually led the team in 5v5 TOI per game with 18:38—that was 18th-most in the league among defensemen who played at least 100 minutes. For a player who just turned 24 in March and who was often a third-pair defenseman or healthy scratch with his previous team, that’s an impressive workload to carry. His puck movement has always been strong, and it looked like that improved this season despite an uptick in offensive production. He is also an excellent skater, which is definitely an asset on an older team like Washington—the more speed and agility he brings to the lineup the better.
Sandin also signed a five-year, $23 million contract extension this season, locking him in on Washington’s blueline through the 2028-29 season with a $4.9 million AAV. The progress he appeared to make this season after getting regular reps in the lineup is encouraging, and hopefully his game continues to improve.
The Bad: While Sandin’s defensive game has improved since he got to DC, it’s still an issue for him. He has historically been stronger with his offensive play, but he suffered from the massive case of Can’t Generate Offense-itis that the rest of the team struggled with so he couldn’t offset his defensive weaknesses by putting up a lot of points. His defensive numbers weren’t great—his 5v5 CF% was 46.12, and he asked a lot of his goalies at 5v5 with 12.35 HDCA/60. Additionally, while plus-minus isn’t everything, he did finish the year at -13. That was the worst for any Caps’ defenseman, and decidedly brutal for a blueliner.
The Video:
The Discussion: Sandin rotated between skating alongside John Carlson, Nick Jensen, and Trevor van Riemsdyk this season—who would you like to see him skate with come October? What are your thoughts on the contract extension he signed this year? Do you expect Sandin’s performance to improve next year now that he has a full season with his new team under his belt? And finally, what would it take for you to give Sandin a 10 next season?
The Vote: Rate Rasmus Sandin below on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best) based on his performance relative to his potential and your expectations for the season – so if he had the best year you could have imagined him having, give him a 10; if he more or less played as you expected he would, give him a 5 or a 6; if he had the worst year you could have imagined him having, give him a 1.