East Notes: Nylander, Rangers, Knight

The contract status of Maple Leafs forward William Nylander is sure to draw plenty of attention this season as he enters the final year of his contract.  In the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggests that there probably isn’t going to be a resolution soon and that discussions will likely occur throughout the season.  Notably, he adds that there have been talks about testing Nylander down the middle, a position he played earlier in his career.  Nylander is already eyeing a sizable raise that would push his AAV into to the $10MM range but if he is able to see some time at center and play well, his market value would only increase given the high demand for impact middlemen.  If that happens, he could very well price himself out of what Toronto can afford.

More from the Eastern Conference:

• At the moment, the Rangers don’t have any players on PTOs heading to training camp with them. However, Arthur Staple of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that GM Chris Drury hasn’t ruled out the idea of bringing one in over the coming days.  New York doesn’t have many openings on their roster and they have a handful of forwards and blueliners that should contend for a spot so unless there’s a proven upgrade willing to come to camp on a tryout, it might make more sense for the Rangers to stay with what they have.
• Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight spoke with Ken Campbell of The Hockey News to discuss the events that transpired that ultimately resulted in him stepping away from the team in February to enter the NHL/NHL Players’ Association Player Assistance Program. Knight didn’t return during Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup Final but participated in their development camp this summer and is expected to be a full participant in training camp next week when he’ll look to reclaim the other spot in their tandem with Sergei Bobrovsky.