An interesting development in the William Nylander negotiations revealed
The Leafs did manage to take care of some important business at the very start of free agency on July 1st and 2nd, signing UFAs Ryan Reaves, John Klingberg, Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi, but since that point in time, things have been very quiet in Toronto.
The primary reason that there hasn't been much to speak of in Toronto this week is because of the lack of traction is that Leafs GM Brad Treliving is busy trying to get new deals done for both Auston Matthews and William Nylander, both of whom became eligible to sign contract extensions on July 1st. Well, that, and the fact that they're currently $8.8M over the cap ($3.2M over the cap once Jake Muzzin lands on LTIR).
On Sunday, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta appeared on the NHL Network, where he was asked a variety of questions - one of which was about the Nylander and Matthews extensions. While his response was that it was mostly status quo at the moment, Pagnotta did drop an interesting tidbit about Nylander. According to Pagnotta, Nylander is looking for a full 8-year term from the Leafs.
With Matthews reportedly seeking a 3-5 year term on his next deal, it's certainly good news that Nylander would like to commit a little longer. The problem, however, is the salary ask from the Nylander camp, which is believed to still be above the $10M per season mark.
Another interesting tidbit that Pagnotta dropped is that he believes, from talking with sources close to the situation, that Nylander's extension is expected to get done before the Matthews extension.
This should be an interesting next week or so, as the Leafs look to get themselves back below the salary cap so that they can sign RFA goaltender Ilya Samsonov before his arbitration date, which will land somewhere between July 20th and August 3rd - and I'm sure they'd love to have Matthews and Nylander extended before committing big term and a significant AAV to Samsonov.
| POLL | ||
9 JUILLET | 880 ANSWERS An interesting development in the William Nylander negotiations revealed Will the Leafs sign Nylander for the full 8-year term he's seeking? | ||
| Yes | 227 | 25.8 % |
| No | 653 | 74.2 % |
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