Grading the Erik Gustafsson for Rasmus Sandin trade

The third trade the Washington Capitals made before Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline was sending Erik Gustafsson along with first round pick from the Boston Bruins to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Rasmus Sandin.

Gustafsson was valuable and reliable and definitely upped his trade value during a roller coaster season with the Capitals. He was certainly a bright spot in a year full of injuries and age catching up to this team.

He finished his time with the Capitals with Sven goals and 31 assists for 38 points. He even had a hat trick against the team he’s currently on which is the first time in NHL history that a player scored a hat trick against a team he later got traded to, per NHL PR.

I could easily see the Maple Leafs making noise in the rest of the regular season and we’ll see what they can do in the Stanley Cup playoffs as they’re in a drought of their own. They lost last night to the Edmonton Oilers but I don’t believe Gus was playing.

Toronto currently sits at the Atlantic Division with a 37-16-8 record for 82 points. They won’t catch the Boston Bruins for first in the division especially after they re-signed David Pastrnak but they might have a good first round matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gus did everything he had to do during his short time with the Caps and he will be missed. He is 30 though and was on an expiring contract so moving him along with a late first rounder was the right move by general manager Brian MacLellan.

What the Caps got in return is a young defenseman, something they’ll need as they’ll look to re-sign restricted free agents Alex Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary. He has four goals and 16 assists for 20 points in 52 games for the Maple Leafs.

Grade B+: This was a good trade that will benefit both sides. The Leafs get a first rounder and a player they can depend on in the first round of the playoffs if they’re looking to advance. The Caps get a young defenseman which should help with the youth infusion.