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The Toronto Maple Leafs continue their season-opening three-game homestand on Saturday against the Minnesota Wild, hoping to play better defensively after allowing five goals in a sloppy 6-5 shootout victory over Montreal on Wednesday.
The club got off to a good start offensively, scoring a pair of goals with the extra attacker down 5-3 in the last five minutes of regulation, but should not have ended up there after rallying from a two-goal deficit to lead 3-2 heading into the third.
Besides the game-to-game news with the club, the ongoing narrative this season will be the contract status of winger William Nylander, who scored his first of the season and assisted on Auston Matthews tying goal.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported on Thursday that although Nylander told his agent Lewis Gross to continue talks with the Leafs into the season and that both sides are hopeful in getting a deal done, but as has been the case since early July, they are not close to bridging the gap on an extension.
The situation for the Leafs is tenuous since they risk losing a valuable asset with nothing to show for it other than just under $7 million in cap space if the impasse between the two sides continues. What is unknown is how GM Brad Treliving will address the issue as the club approaches the trade deadline.
If Toronto as many people expect, is well ensconced in one of the top three spots in the Atlantic Division, then Treliving will not want to risk affecting team chemistry and will likely look at Nylander as an own-rental while continuing to negotiate into next summer before free agency in July.
That might change if the talks yield no hope of reaching a conclusion, but as was seen with the Johnny Gaudreau situation in Calgary, they negotiated up until the days leading to him signing in Columbus.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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