Insider reveals how Matthews extension impacts Leafs' decision-making on Nylander, others
On Thursday, several NHLers were were interviewed in Stockholm, Sweden as a precursor to the upcoming Global Series this season. The Leafs are among the teams participating and getting set to play games in Sweden this season, which was pretty exciting to William Nylander, who was one of the players interviewed during the European Media Tour this week.
During his interview, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman pushed Nylander to discuss his contract status during an interview on Thursday and the Swedish winger refused to engage in any dialogue about the ongoing negotiations between he and the Leafs. Friedman does believe, though, that this one isn't going to have a quick resolution.
Friedman suggested that the Matthews deal may have the Leafs considering playing things slower with Nylander and, also, Mitch Marner, who will become eligible to sign an extension of his own next summer.
"I think now, the question is, not only for Nylander - what does it mean for Marner too? Marner's up in 2 years, he's eligible for an extension next year. What does this mean for his number? What does it mean for Nylander's number?
This is the way, I think, guys, it's going to play out. I think the Maple Leafs are going to say, 'look, we wanted to get Matthews done, we wanted to extend him... now we're going to let next year play out. A lot of our decisions - Marner, Nylander, Bertuzzi, Domi, Samsonov.. we can make those decisions late this year or after this season,' and I think that's the way Toronto's going to do it." - Friedman on how the Leafs will address all of their decisions now that the Matthews extension is done
This is the way, I think, guys, it's going to play out. I think the Maple Leafs are going to say, 'look, we wanted to get Matthews done, we wanted to extend him... now we're going to let next year play out. A lot of our decisions - Marner, Nylander, Bertuzzi, Domi, Samsonov.. we can make those decisions late this year or after this season,' and I think that's the way Toronto's going to do it." - Friedman on how the Leafs will address all of their decisions now that the Matthews extension is done
If some of these players are willing to negotiate in-season, perhaps we'll see some of these extensions get done during the year. In Bertuzzi, Domi and Samsonov's cases, those extensions cannot be signed until after January 1st. For Nylander, he can sign anytime. Marner is the only one who absolutely has to wait until July 1st, 2024. It's going to be interesting to see how this one plays out, but one thing is for sure - if none of these deals get done in-season, Brad Treliving is setting himself up for another busy summer next year.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 25 | 188 ANSWERS Insider reveals how Matthews extension impacts Leafs' decision-making on Nylander, others Are the Leafs right to want to wait on Nylander and others until next summer? | ||
| Yes | 93 | 49.5 % |
| No | 95 | 50.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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