Toronto Maple Leafs: Nylander Watch Hits Final Hours

The Toronto Maple Leafs have just under six hours to get William Nylander under contract.

This situation is, predictably, coming down to the last minutes.  The team and player are both out to get the best deal, and there isn’t any incentive to rush this, so I am trying not to be worried.  I still expect William Nylander to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

I am trying to remain optimistic.

The reason? There is just no upside to Nylander missing the season.  People can criticize him for his greed, but if he missed the year, he’s still going to be an NHL hockey player, and those are rare enough that it’s not like he’s going to be blackballed or anything.

Dubas on the other hand, is a rookie GM in an industry where he did the near-impossible and got a job without ever having played in the NHL or being 50.  If he blows this, it will be a giant blow to his promising career.  The Leafs have a once in a lifetime opportunity to stack their team under the cap this year with the so-rare it never happens situation of having two of the best players in the NHL on ELC deals and having basically no cap hit.

Since there is no upside to missing the deadline, expect a deal to get done.

Too Much Tension!

That said, the clock is ticking. I fully expected to wake up to a Nylander announcement and I am sure I am not alone in being nervous about his, despite my confidence a deal gets done.

As for a trade?

Bob Mackenzie said this:

The use of three ‘highlys’ followed by a ‘technically’ is about the strongest language you can use without offering a full-on guarantee, so it looks like it is basically 100% no trade.  That’s good.

There doesn’t seem to be any way that a team in ‘win now’ mode can get fair value for a hold-out winger.  What team is going to sacrifice the defenseman (premium position) needed to make it worth while?

As this thing winds down, the one observation I have is that Leafs fans are vicious. A year ago, Nylander was Marner’s equal, and now after sitting out, we get serious discussion on how Marner is worth three or four million per year more.

This sort of downplays how important it is to sign Nylander, makes it seem like less of a big deal if he’s not playing.  But in reality, if we are comfortable calling Marner one of the best players in the NHL, I think we should realize that William Nylander is also that.

Five hours and forty-five minutes and counting…….