Snapshots: Nylander, Flames, Senators

In a recent interview with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, new Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving spoke about contract talks with William Nylander. He made it clear that Toronto wants to re-sign the top-six winger, adding, “[Nylander] is a very good player and you always want to keep the good players… he’s told me he wants to be in Toronto. If there’s a desire on both sides, then you should be able to come to an agreement.”

Leafs fans certainly hope that optimism means good things for future negotiations. Nylander scored 40 goals and 87 points in 82 games last season, his second year in a row setting career highs in both of those stats. He’s a consistent goal-scoring threat, entering the final year of a contract with a cap hit just below $7MM. A new deal will likely come with a raise, although Toronto currently has 12 other skaters slated to hit free agency next summer, in addition to Nylander. That could make it hard for the team to afford his services for much longer, although an early extension may help them prepare a bit more.

More from around the league:

• The Calgary Flames have officially hired a slew of new staff. This includes bringing on Kerry Huffman and Brad Richardson as Pro Scouts. Richardson appeared in 27 games with Calgary during his playing career, while Huffman played a bulk of his career with the Ottawa Senators and Quebec Nordiques next door.
• The sale of the Ottawa Senators could close as soon as next week. The selling of the franchise has been major news for much of the summer, with Michael Andlauer emerging as the eventual buyer. Andlauer owned a 10 percent stake in the Montreal Canadiens before bidding on the Senators. His bid also features Anna and Olivia Melnyk, Jeff York, and the Ottawa-based real estate Malhorta family.