A few months back, Rasmus Sandin was a contract holdout; As it turns out, he was worth every penny and more

Sandin took a while to get going in the early stages of the season, and was even approached by Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe with a particular assignment as he appeared to be taking on too much. That assignment? Just keep it simple. Make the right play, the safe play and don't panic under pressure and throw it up the middle.

In the weeks that follow his talk with the bench boss, Sandin has really come into his own. After a trio of unfortunate injuries to Jake Muzzin, Morgan Rielly and T.J. Brodie, the Leafs were left with a pretty depleted blueline. Sheldon Keefe put a lot of trust and faith in Sandin and his D partner, Timothy Liljegren, to take on more minutes and more responsibility in all situations and they have thrived. Just how well has Sandin faired recently? Well, a quick glance of his last 10 games tell a large part of the story, as The Athletic's Jonas Siegel points out:

In the end, Sandin's holdout did not cost him any time to start the season, though it did leave him with a bit of ground to make up from a conditioning standpoint. Now that he's up to speed and playing with a lot of confidence, he's showing Leafs Nation that he's worth every penny of his $1.4M salary and then some.

Now, a fixture in a top-4 who has overachieved in recent weeks, Sandin has racked up 13 points in 30 games for the Buds and is on pace for a career year. If he can remain healthy and productive, this season and next, his next contract is going to be substantially larger - as will be his role on the team.