One detail of the ongoing Nylander/Leafs negotiations revealed
Since just before the season began, when William Nylander addressed the media and told everyone that he would not entertain questions about his contract during the season, it has been relatively quiet. Whether that's a reflection of the media respecting his wishes or everyone just being extra careful to remain tight-lipped is another conversation entirely.
On the most recent edition of TSN's Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun addressed the lack of information going public, stating that he believes that Brad Treliving and Nylander's agent, Lewis Gross, struck a deal to keep things quiet before negotiations began.
"The thing about it is that it's been quiet by design. Both sides made a pact before the season started. They did not want any leaks whatsoever. Both sides want to be tight-lipped and that's exactly the way it's played out so far. And the reality is, if this thing had gone off the rails in terms of contract talks, you probably would be hearing more because you'd get some message sending from one side or the other.
The reality is, the dialogue is ongoing. My understanding is both sides keep going back and forth. They hope to get something done between now and July 1st, but it's a difficult contract to get done. William Nylander has been spectacular, his salary leverage keeps going up, but the Leafs, also, keep dealing with the salary cap." - LeBrun on the Nylander extension situation
The reality is, the dialogue is ongoing. My understanding is both sides keep going back and forth. They hope to get something done between now and July 1st, but it's a difficult contract to get done. William Nylander has been spectacular, his salary leverage keeps going up, but the Leafs, also, keep dealing with the salary cap." - LeBrun on the Nylander extension situation
This whole thing has been handled very similarly to how Auston Matthews and his agent, Judd Moldaver, went about their business last season - a full year ahead of when Matthews was eligible to even sign a contract. Even this summer, while all of the attention was on Matthews and if/when he would sign, both the Leafs and the Matthews camp remained very tight-lipped, other than Matthews himself having told the media that Toronto was where he wanted to stay a handful of times.
William Nylander has made similar comments this year about wanting to be in Toronto, so if the Auston Matthews situation taught us anything, it's that if a player is routinely emphasizing his desire to return, perhaps he should be given the benefit of the doubt. Yes, I'm aware of the long list of examples of players saying they wanted to return only to turn around and walk, John Tavares and Johnny Gaudreau being two recent examples, but in Nylander's case, I'm inclined to believe him.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 18 | 398 ANSWERS One detail of the ongoing Nylander/Leafs negotiations revealed Do you believe that Nylander is being genuine when he says he wants to remain in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 341 | 85.7 % |
| No | 57 | 14.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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