Analyst shares unique take on the William Nylander situation
With training camp set to open today as players report for physicals, medicals and media availability, William Nylander enters camp without a contract extension. When Auston Matthews signed his extension a month ago, Brad Treliving noted that he would be making another attempt to get Nylander to sign one as well. That has not happened yet, but there are still 3 weeks before the regular season begins.
Yesterday, on Sportscenter, Jamie McLennan was asked if there was any pressure on Nylander playing in a contract year, and while McLennan said there was, he believes Nylander will thrive because of it.
"Nylander set the bar last year with 87 points, a carrer-high...if he follows it up with another monster season, then he's going to be looking at a big number. Certainly, the pressure is square on William Nylander, but I think he relishes that... and the harder he works for that the new contract, the better it is for the Leafs."
Not only does McLennan believe that Nylander will thrive this season under the pressure of a new contract, but if he performs and has another career year, it could make it easier and make the Leafs feel more comfortable in raising their offer in the hopes of finding a middle ground between their $8M-$9M and Nylander's $10M-$10.5M ask.
The biggest issue that may come of this is the distraction and constant questions Nylander may face from the media. However, he will likely do what Matthews did last season in making a comment on it once and then saying he will not talk about it further so that he can play the season without it being a distraction.
