Toronto writer suggests Leafs are working on massive trade involving William Nylander
William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs are at an impasse regarding the forward's contract extension. The Leafs would like to sign Nylander to a long-term extension that will pay him somewhere under $9M per season while reports indicate that Nylander is seeking in the neighbourhood of $10M+ per season. The fact that neither side is budging is leading many to believe Nylander may be on his way out of Toronto and according to one Toronto writer/radio host, he could be headed to San Jose.
The Sharks are turning a corner in their rebuild after drafting young center Will Smith im this most recent draft, and outside of Tomas Hertl, they don't have much star power up front. Nylander is coming off of a 40-goal, 87-point season and would instantly become the Sharks' most dangerous offensive weapon up front.
The interesting part in all of this is that the Sharks have just under $5.5M in cap space for the upcoming season. Howard Berger is reporting that the Leafs and Sharks are in discussions about a trade that would see Nylander and other pieces go to San Jose for current Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and additional assets.
The deal would be a very complex deal given that the Sharks have already said they won't retain 50% of Karlsson's $11.5M salary for the next 4 years. Karlsson is coming off of a 101-point campaign that saw him score 25 goals and would provide the Leafs with a significant increase in production from their blueline.
There are a couple of issues with this trade for the Leafs, however. One being Karlsson's salary and remaining term. Two is the fact that Karlsson is 33-years-old and has a history of foot, ankle, knee and groin injuries. Three is that Karlsson doesn't exactly fit the type of defenceman that Brad Treliving and the Leafs need. After signing John Klingberg, the Leafs have added more offense to their blueline, and are now in need of a physical defenseman like a Nikita Zadorov or Matt Dumba. Finally, the Leafs just shored up their left wing depth with the signing of Tyler Bertuzzi, and with Matthew Knies approaching his first full NHL season, subtracting Nylander from the right side would just reverse the problem the Leafs have had for the past few seasons and leave them with a lack of depth on the right wing.
Given that the source here is Berger, who isn't your run-of-the-mill storybreaker, we should take this one with a grain of salt. Having said that, there aren't many Nylander trades that you'll win and depending on what the other pieces involved in the Karlsson trade might be, the Leafs could do OK here.
| POLL | ||
13 JUILLET | 931 ANSWERS Toronto writer suggests Leafs are working on massive trade involving William Nylander Could you get behind the idea of a Nylander + for Karlsson + trade between the Leafs and Sharks? | ||
| Yes | 456 | 49 % |
| No | 475 | 51 % |
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