Brian Burke expands on his comments that Nylander has to go this summer
Former Leafs GM Brian Burke has been pretty outspoken about the Leafs' core since the team washed out of their round 2 series against Florida. Burke admits that there's a lot of talent there, but he has also been very clear in that he believes that the concept of paying 4 players nearly half of the team's cap space was never going to work from the very start.
In terms of how he would go about fixing it, Burke admitted recently that one of the core guys has to be moved this summer. He revealed not long ago that he believes that Nylander is the easiest guy to move and during an appearance on Leafs Morning Take this week, Burkie expanded on why he believes Nylander needs to go.
"One guy is untradable, the other two guys are too valuable. I think it's gotta be Nylander [on the move]. Now in my mind, and by the way, he's become valuable to the point where he's no longer overpaid in my view... He's been a solid playoff, regular season performer, and it's time I think to move on and get those assets there and get your cap down." - Burke on moving Nylander
It's tough to argue with that logic. Tavares has a full no-movement clause, Matthews and Marner are two of the truly elite players at their positions in the league and Nylander, as good as he is, is kind of fourth in the pecking order there.
Another issue here is that Brad Treliving just watched Johnny Gaudreau leave Calgary via free agency last summer. Gaudreau's agent, Lewis Gross, also represents William Nylander. We know how those negotiations with Toronto went last time, with Nylander sitting out until December, so I highly doubt that Treliving will be interested in following in Kyle Dubas' footsteps there.
Burkie has always been an honest guy and a straight-shooter. It's probably not what anyone wants to hear, but Burke raises a very good point about Nylander making the most sense to deal.
If you're curious as to what else Burke had to say about the Leafs, check out this clip from Leafs Morning Take on TLN's official YouTube page.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 3 | 786 ANSWERS Brian Burke expands on his comments that Nylander has to go this summer Does Nylander make the most sense to trade from the Leafs' perspective? | ||
| Yes | 402 | 51.1 % |
| No | 231 | 29.4 % |
| Marner is and always has been the guy to move | 153 | 19.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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