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The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their success on home ice with a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday, as Auston Matthews had a pair of goals in his return to the lineup after missing over a month with a shoulder injury.
John Tavares tallied twice, Patrick Marleau also scored, Mitch Marner and Andreas Johnsson added a pair of assists, and Frederik Andersen made 38 saves for his league-leading 14th win of the season.
The Leafs scored three times in the first period, including a pair of power play goals from their top two centers. Marleau extended the lead to 4-1 on the man advantage early in the middle frame and Matthews added his 12th goal of the season on a deflection of a Johnsson shot.
“We obviously scored goals. I don't know if we skated as good as we normally skate, to be honest with you.… Head coach Mike Babcock said after the game. “Ever since we came back from the West Coast, I don't know if we've skated as good as we can. We have good players and found a way to play good enough and win.…
The player that Babcock believes will help make his team quicker is winger William Nylander, whose deadline to sign a new contract to play in the NHL this season is less than 48 hours away. The Leafs head coach has increasingly made reference of the restricted free agent winger over the last week, in what feels like a charm campaign to woe the 22-year-old winger back into the fold, but indications are there is still a significant gap between offer made by GM Kyle Dubas and the asking price of the Nylander camp.
“Kyle and I talk about this every day, so I’m up-to-date on what’s going on. There’s lots of opinion out there, but let’s not confuse opinion and facts.… Babcock said on Thursday. “We think Willy’s going to be here and we think Willy’s going to be here a long time. We think Willy’s going to be a career Leaf.…
That may be the hope of the organization, but in the end that may not be the reality of the situation. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman indicated on Wednesday that not much has happened between the two sides in the last week.
That does not preclude an eleventh hour agreement on a short-term bridge deal or a long-term contract or the possibility of Nylander choosing not to sign by the deadline, but that there is a belief that no matter what the final outcome is, the Leafs will trade the winger before the trade deadline or at the NHL Draft.
Furthering the potential of a parting of the ways between Nylander and Toronto was Pierre Lebrun’s report that while the Leafs first choice and hope is to re-sign Nylander, Toronto has circled back to teams interested in trading for the restricted free agent to put their best foot forward on trade offers.
The timeline for the other teams to submit their final trade offers a couple weeks ago coincided with the number of scouts decreasing at recent Leafs games, but a Toronto scout was in Philadelphia for a Flyers game on Wednesday and with the recent managerial upheaval in the City of Brotherly Love, there is speculation that the Flyers are looking to make a big splash.
If the winger refuses to sign, it has to be considered a scenario where everyone loses. Nylander would either play in Europe or stay dormant for an entire season, the Leafs will be denied the services of a talented scorer in a year where they have to be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and that could affect what Dubas is able to get in return for him before February 25th or at the Draft in Vancouver.
It is clear that the Leafs are sending signals both publicly and privately that they have gone as far as they will on a new deal and expect Nylander to sign on the dotted line or they will move him if there is a trade to their liking, the only question is whether they trade him now or later.
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We talk... St. Matthews godly return, Stick Marner’s latest magic trick and how Nylanderites turn on the trusted putting need over news.#TMLTalk #TheLeafsConvo #NHL @TheLeafsConvo @MikeInBuffalo https://t.co/mmkq9mhmOm pic.twitter.com/u8QKyhtsM0