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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced their roster for training camp on Wednesday, which consists of 77 players; 40 forwards, 25 defensemen, 8 goaltenders and 4 injured. The club did not add any veterans on professional tryouts, and added only three players on amateur tryouts, which means that the bulk of the roster are unsigned draft picks or those signed to NHL, AHL or ECHL contracts.
The club will hold medicals on Thursday and GM Kyle Dubas and head coach Mike Babcock will speak to the media at Mastercard Centre before they head down the QEW to Niagara Falls, ON for three days of on-ice work at Gale Centre Arena.
Full practices and scrimmages will be held from 9:30am to 1pm on Friday, September 14 thru Sunday, September 16. The Leafs are expected to release their training camp roster on Wednesday or early Thursday.
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Information began to filter out about the contract talks between the Leafs and William Nylander and if you were hoping to see restricted free agent on the ice this weekend, the odds of that occurring appear slim.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Tuesday that negotiations between Toronto and the 22-year-old winger are ongoing, but that the two sides are “significantly apart… on a new deal.
TSN’s Darren Dreger said on Wednesday that the Leafs are using comparables in the range of Nikolaj Ehlers seven-year, $42 Million deal ($6 Million AAV) or Sean Monahan’s contract with Calgary for $6.375 Million AAV, but sources not connected to Toronto have indicated that Nylander’s camp is looking for an extension for $8 Million per season or higher.
Friedman pointed out that Nylander’s Lewis Gross has a history of holding players out of camp (Torey Krug and Johnny Gaudreau being recent examples). William’s father Michael is also part of his representation and had a history of holding out during his NHL career.
While this simply could be a bit of negotiating through the media to get one or the other to come off their number, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas is in a position with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner looking for new deals where he cannot budge on Nylander.
Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov averaged 65 points and 30 goals in the last two years of his ELC and signed a three-year, $14.3 Million bridge deal in 2016. Nylander’s goal totals and points do not match with Kucherov, so a two-year deal would likely be in the $4-to-$4.5 Million range per season.
If Nylander does not come off his asking price and a holdout lasts deep into training camp, a short-term bridge deal becomes more likely.
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