We know from Gross' history that he's not afraid of holding out and standing firm on his position, as we've seen in the past with the Johnny Gaudreau negotiations, the Rasmus Sandin negotiations and, as we're all well aware, the original William Nylander negotiations, holding out straight through until the December 1st signing deadline back in 2018.
There have been several suggestions from some very credible hockey minds throughout the early stages of the summer that the Leafs would be open to considering trade options for Nylander if the two sides cannot find common ground on a new deal. With Nylander's ask in excess of $10M per season, while the Leafs are countering with an offer believed to be less than $9M, there's a lot of ground to make up here to try to close that gap.
An interesting trade rumour has popped up on Saturday, with Hockey Buzz creator, Eklund, suggesting that the Leafs may actually be engaged in discussions with the Calgary Flames over a deal that would send Nylander to the Flames in a package that would be centered around defenseman Noah Hanifin.
All rumours should be taken with a grain of salt, but it's important to acknowledge the fact that not only was Nylander born in Calgary, but that Brad Treliving has a pre-existing relationship with Noah Hanifin as well, having traded for him once before.
Not all rumours come to fruition, but sometimes, where there's smoke, there's fire. It will be interesting to see where this one goes.
POLL | ||
AOUT 5 | 443 ANSWERS William Nylander linked to another Canadian team in trade rumour Will the Leafs trade William Nylander to the Calgary Flames? | ||
Yes | 238 | 53.7 % |
No | 205 | 46.3 % |
List of polls |