Maple Leafs lose Rasmus Sandin to long term injury on trade deadline day.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been dealt a big blow on trade deadline day, but it could be a blow that general manager Kyle Dubas transform into an opportunity depending on the details of the situation.

The news comes courtesy of part time NHL insider Bob McKenzie who was back for one day only today as part of the NHL trade deadline coverage at TSN, and unsurprisingly McKenzie is on top of things once again. McKenzie broke the news that Maple Leafs defenseman Rasmus Sandin has suffered what appears to be a significant knee injury, one that McKenzie appeared to indicate would keep him out of the long term.

Obviously losing a player like Sandin is not an ideal scenario for the Leafs but as we have seen more and more frequently around the National Hockey League injuries can turn into opportunities for teams as the regular season draws to a close. If the Maple Leafs expect Sandin to miss the remainder of the regular season it will give them an opportunity to put him, and more importantly his cap hit, on long term injured reserve (LTIR).

This could result in additional flexibility for Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas at the trade deadline, albeit there will be very little time for the Leafs to adjust given that the deadline is now less than 2 hours away at the time of this writing. That being said it's not impossible so it will be very interesting to see what exactly comes of this, if anything, as the Leafs close out the deadline on Monday.

Update: We have some corroboration on McKenzie's report courtesy of fellow NHL insider Chris Johnston and this would appear to confirm the bad news for both Sandin and the Maple Leafs. According to Johnston Sandin is now expected to be out for "weeks" rather than days, all but guaranteeing that this is going to be a longer term injury for the young defenseman.

The only question that remains now is whether or not they expect him back in the regular season, and if not what will they do with the extra cap space placing him on LTIR will provide them with.