Rasmus Andersson of Malmo, Sweden has one more year left on his contract this season where he will be making $4.55 million. There is no doubt that Andersson will be earning a significant pay raise and will be moving to a franchise that is set to win now. Robert Munnich of Flames Nation wrote today that the Dallas Stars were a perfect trade partner for Andersson. There is another team that should be in the mix. That is the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are in desperate need to upgrade their defense too.
What we saw in the playoffs was the fact that the Maple Leafs were a step behind the Florida Panthers. They had problems shutting down Sam Reinhart, Brad Marchand, and Aleksander Barkov. We know the Panthers will be perennial contenders for the next few years, and the Maple Leafs will need to make some adjustments on both ends of the ice.
You may think that the Maple Leafs are in need of some more scoring after trading Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights. The answer is yes. They need an upgrade on defense too. The Maple Leafs gave up 26 goals to the Panthers in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and gave up 12 goals combined in games five and seven. Blueliners Brandon Carlo, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Simon Benoit were a combined -10 in the series.
Andersson’s stats in 2024-25
At first glance, you may ask why the Maple Leafs would consider a player who was -38 this past season. Well, it is because he was +30 only three years ago on a better Flames team better than last year. Andersson also tied a career high in goals (11), and set career-highs in power play goals (three), and shots on goal (163). He also had a career-high 196 blocked shots.
Connections to the Maple Leafs
One must remember that it was current Flames general manager Brad Treliving, who drafted Andersson in the second round, 53rd overall, in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Treliving is the current general manager of the Maple Leafs.
Maple Leafs link to Swedes
The Maple Leafs have had success in the past with Swedes. Center Mats Sundin of Bromma is the Maple Leafs’s all-time leader in goals (420), points (967), power-play goals (124), and game-winning goals (79). Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs all-time assist leader is Swedish (defenseman Bjore Salming with 620), and one of their top current forwards is right winger William Nylander, who is a Calgary-born Swede.
