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There is a sizable divide of opinion between those who believe the Toronto Maple Leafs should go to all lengths to get William Nylander signed to a contract extension and those who believe he is a symbol of a soft core group that has won a single playoff series in seven playoff seasons.
Some may be skeptical about this, but my opinion lies somewhere in the middle. There is no doubt that Nylander is a valuable commodity, a talented scorer who has shown up at times in the playoffs, but that is balanced by what his contract demands are and the possibility of him walking away at the end of next season as an unrestricted free agent.
It all depends on the number. If Leafs GM Brad Treliving could get Nylander locked up on an eight-year deal in the range of Filip Forsberg’s $8.5 million AAV signed last summer or Timo Meier’s max deal at $8.8 million AAV, then a case can be made for keeping the 27-year-old.
If as reported by Chris Johnston, Elliotte Friedman, and Pierre LeBrun, Nylander is asking for more than $10 million per season, the Leafs simply cannot pay that or anything close to that with Auston Matthews new deal coming up, and Mitch Marner’s deal expiring in two years.
Over the next few days, we will take a look at a few different trade scenarios that appear realistic for Nylander.
Rachel Doerrie of the Hockey News suggested a possible Nylander for Brett Pesce deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, saying that the Canes have reached a similar impasse with the 28-year-old blueliner one year out from free agency, and cannot get him locked up on a long-term deal.
This is an oldie but a goodie since rumors of a Nylander for Pesce deal go back three or four years when the Leafs dire need was a right-handed defenseman. The reasoning for it still applies. The Canes need more offense, especially with Andrei Svechnikov coming back from a serious knee injury. There are rumors that they are in on the Erik Karlsson deal, but if they cannot swing a deal with San Jose, they could pivot to Nylander, using a plus defender in Pesce as bait.
It could simply be a rental-for-rental deal, but there might be more hope to get Pesce signed to a six-or-seven-year deal below what Morgan Rielly is making than getting Nylander signed for less than $9 million.
The chatter has been constant that if Pesce is dealt that the Nashville Predators are a possible destination and that Canes GM Don Waddell would swing the first-round pick obtained from the Preds in a deal for Karlsson, but if Karlsson ends up in Pittsburgh, that falls apart.
Pt 2 on Friday – Nylander to his birth place