While the Maple Leafs were able to get an extension done with Auston Matthews earlier this week, it doesn’t appear as if much progress has been made on a new deal with pending UFA William Nylander. Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun relays that the two sides are at least $1MM apart per year on a new agreement. Toronto is hoping to sign the 27-year-old around the $9MM mark while his camp is seeking something starting with a ten. Nylander is coming off a career year that saw him put up 87 points in 82 games, his second straight campaign of at least 80 points. If Nylander doesn’t sign now and goes and has another 80-point showing, he should be well-positioned to have someone meet his asking price on the open market next summer.
More from the Atlantic:
- Earlier this week, veteran winger Austin Watson agreed to a tryout deal with Tampa Bay but it was a bit surprising that it came to that point. Senators play-by-play voice Dean Brown recently reported (Twitter link) that his former team in Ottawa offered him a one-year contract earlier in free agency but that the 31-year-old was hoping to land a three-year agreement. Clearly, that didn’t come to fruition and resulted in very limited interest on the open market. That said, Watson should have a good chance to earn a spot with the Lightning with several key checkers leaving the organization this summer. However, with their salary cap situation, his deal, should he land one, is almost certain to be at or close to the minimum salary of $775K.
- Winger Alex Chiasson told Kevin Paul Dupont of The Boston Globe that he received a “fair number” of PTO offers around the NHL this summer. In the end, he chose the Bruins based on his perceiving an opportunity to land a regular roster spot along with a desire to play for a contender. This will be Chiasson’s fifth training camp on a PTO. He landed an NHL deal with the first three while the fourth (with Arizona last season) was unsuccessful.
It’s really less about Interest with free Agents and more about no team has any money to add key depth.
I feel like the Sundin era of the Leafs was the best it’s been in modern history – back when they had solid secondary scoring like Berezin, Andropov, Pillar, and the like. I’m not sure this Matthews era is gonna be a good ride for Leafs fans when all the primary scoring has to walk to fit a mammoth contract.
pillar? you mean Karel Pilar of 6 career goals?
Andropov?
you mean Nick antropov. he of a career high 26 goals and who didn’t make the playoffs in his two highest scoring seasons?
I agree the Sundin years were great but it was the Roberts, Tucker, mogilny (and start of antropovs career) years
You will have to forgive me, as I am going solely on childhood memories. :P I remember the names, not the stats.
I was wondering about Pilar also, he was just so irrelevant for the leafs. But let’s not forget about Jonas Hoglund, no matter how bad he played they kept trying to make him a top line forward beside Sundin.
Those were some good years with the battle of Ontario being at its best
Leafs and Sens in the first round many moons ago… That was a fun series.