Maple Leafs winger William Nylander is one of just three remaining restricted free agents and it doesn’t appear as if a deal is particularly close. In an appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested that there haven’t been many talks as of late between Nylander’s camp and the team. The belief remains that Toronto is hoping to lock the 22-year-old on a long-term pact somewhere in the $6MM range but Nylander is seeking more than $7MM per year to be locked up long-term. Understandably, the Leafs are going to try to hold a hard line knowing that contracts for top youngsters Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are on the horizon for next season.
More from the Atlantic:
- While the Bruins appear to have a pair of roster spots up front, one of them has already been taken. Head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters, including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, that youngster is expected to break camp with the team. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise as the 22-year-old put up nine points in a dozen games after joining the team late last season although he was a frequent scratch in the postseason. That leaves the rest of the roster hopefuls, including veteran tryout wingers Lee Stempniak and Daniel Winnik, vying for one last position.
- Winger Martin Frk returned to practice for the first time since straining an oblique muscle at the beginning of training camp, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. He’s coming off of a career year after putting up 25 points in 68 games for the Red Wings last season and was eventually rewarded with a $1.05MM contract for the upcoming season but his spot on the roster isn’t exactly guaranteed with several youngsters pushing for spots. Meanwhile, defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Danny DeKeyser will miss at least the next two games with what head coach Jeff Blashill is calling “minor tweaks”.
- Lightning center Tyler Johnson will miss the remainder of the preseason due to an upper-body injury, head coach Jon Cooper told reporters, including Fox Sports’ Caley Chelios (Twitter links). Fortunately for him, Tampa Bay opens their 2018-19 campaign relatively late (October 6th) so he could still be available for when the puck drops on the season.
6.3-.5 for wee wille or pack your bags and head to Europe/get traded. Leafs have too many wingers to break the bank on him. Brown on the 4th line is a shame and a waste of a good 20goal man
I think that’s pretty fair, the Leafs can survive just fine without Nylander. Starting to look like he’ll miss a few games in the regular season, but he will see the team succeed without him. Let him sit all season long or trade him for a top pairing D.
Amen! I don’t typically condone mouthiness in comments but Willies being a little greedy bitch! Yea, he’s had his moments and he’s good, but guys like Connor Brown and Zach Hyman are just as good if not better and wouldn’t be so greedy to be able to play for less and be part of a franchise that’s going to be dominant for years to come! And yes, trading him for a top 5-10 D man would be a better solution than dealing with all this drama.
And I’m not much for the advanced stats part, so maybe I’m wrong but playing with Matthews constantly has inflated Nylanders stats. Auston is making Ennis look like a superstar so far this preseason.
There could still be 2 or maybe 3 roster spots in Boston. Bergeron likely won’t be ready to start the season. The same goes for Acciari. That would open spots at least for the start of the season
Agreed. Acciari seems like a good guy and is an okay player, BUT it makes sense to LET HIM GO as he doesn’t drop the gloves, doesn’t get assists, is consistently injured and doesn’t contribute much outside of an occasional goal and a few decent hits every now and then. IMO, doesn’t warrant wasting a roster spot. On a side note, does anyone remember HOW LONG it took him to get his first career NHL goal? LOL. Not rooting against him, but letting Schaller go should have sealed Noel’s fate with the Bruins. Kuraly still has potential, Acciari IS what he’s going to be at this point.
Brian – you forgot to include the Bruins player’s name. Please correct. Thanks.
Clearly, Donato has a roster spot going forward, guy is INSTANT offense. Should have PLAYED HIM during the tampon bay rigged series. As far as 3rd/4th liners go, seems obvious that the Bruins SHOULD HAVE KEPT Nash and/or Schaller on the team via FA. Both are so much better than Aciari, can’t wait until he’s gone, always an injury risk and wasting a roster spot. Guy better AT LEAST fight this season, especially with Quaider being traded. The Bruins pickups outside of Moore were mediocre at best, honestly. Boston should have done more to improve the roster this summer, especially in a competitive division. Kuraly needs to STEP UP even more this season, hope he does, Boston will have a lot of inexperience on those bottom lines.
In terms of Stempniak OR Winnik…. How about Dominic Moore? Stempy has familiarity BUT Winnik has a better 2 way game. Lee SHOULD HAVE re-signed in Boston LAST TIME around, honestly. Might as well PASS on both.
Your emphasis choices hurt my brain
personally i wouldn’t mind mngt shopping for a frontline sniper