According to a report from the Toronto Sun, William Nylander, his agent and Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs are meeting in Switzerland to discuss a new contract.
This morning, Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun wrote an article, which spoke of Nylander, his representatives and Kyle Dubas meeting in neutral Switzerland to discuss what the 22 year old’s next contract might look like.
For the past few months, the Toronto Maple Leafs front office and William Nylander have not been able to agree on a contract. Several rumours have circulated that Nylander has been asking for 8 million USD AAV, while the Toronto Maple Leafs have been offering somewhere between 6 to 6.5 million USD AAV.
Due to the looming December 1, 2019 deadline, both Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs front office are eager to settle on a new contract as soon as possible.
In the past few games, Mike Babcock has featured Kapanen on the top line with Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau. With the line change, the top line has been one of the best lines in the National Hockey League. So far this season, Kapanen has 4 goals, 4 assists, 51.5 corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 23.5 shooting percentage (S%). That’s great and all, but remember this is a very small sample size and that Kapanen isn’t on the same level as Nylander.
If Nylander And The Leafs Agree To A New Deal
If Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs agree to a new deal, he could potentially be back on the ice for Saturday night’s game against the St. Louis Blues, though that is probably a longshot.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a great start, but don’t let the flashy numbers make you think that they don’t need William Nylander. The Leafs can’t keep up their insane pace, and eventually when they are struggling, the same people who say they don’t need him now will be desperate to have him back.
Last season, Nylander had a great season with the Maple Leafs. In 82 games played, he registered 20 goals, 41 assists, 12 power-play points, a 10.9 S% and a 51.4 CF%. He was among the top fifteen players in 5v5 scoring.
Nylander’s point totals likely would have been higher, but Auston Matthews missed 20 games last season and the duo was relegated to the second PP unit.
If Nylander and Kyle Dubas can agree to a new contract, the Toronto Maple Leafs will only get stronger. When he returns, Mike Babcock could look to feature a Kapanen-Matthews-Nylander line. Or Nazem Kadri could finally be gifted with some linemates he could call his peers.
Hopefully, these talks in Switzerland lead to a new contract for Nylander and Leafs Nation can watch the 22 year old take the NHL by storm in a few days.
stats from NHL.com and hockey-reference.com