With nearly 24 hours left before the signing deadline for William Nylander, it appears that the Toronto Maple Leafs and the restricted free agent are still at an impasse and that GM Kyle Dubas is exploring his options if the winger does not agree to their contract offer prior to 5pm Saturday EST.
The latest indicates that the two sides are still separated by a significant amount on a new contract (whether it be a short-term bridge or a longer-term deal) and that the probability of the 22-year-old remains unsigned and becomes ineligible to play in the NHL this season is increasing.
That possibility is consistent with Pierre Lebrun’s report on Thursday that while the Leafs have circled back to teams interested in trading for the restricted free agent if a contract cannot be agreed.
TSN’s Bob McKenzie reported that the trade market for Nylander may be shrinking because teams cannot fit the front-loaded cap hit of a potential long-term deal under the cap, but that does not rule out the possibility of the Leafs taking back an expiring contract in a deal to make the money work. One team that would not have that problem and could be making a late run at the restricted free agent is the Philadelphia Flyers.
According to TSN’s Frank Seravelli, the Flyers are believed to be among the teams that contacted the Leafs in recent days after the firing of GM Ron Hextall and that Dubas and Flyers Team President Paul Holmgren did speak.
The two clubs have continued to keep tabs on one another. Philadelphia scouts were at Scotiabank Arena earlier this month when all eyes were on the Leafs and Toronto maintained a regular presence at the Wells Fargo Center, including one scout at the Flyers-Sens game on Wednesday.
The Flyers fit most of the criteria for a potential Nylander deal, with a wealthy of depth on the blueline, $8.55 Million in available cap space this season and a number of expiring contracts to create more room if they acquire the young winger and sign him to a contract.
The likely target for Toronto would be slick-skating Shayne Gostisbehere, who is signed for another four seasons at $4.5 Million AAV, but a potential hurdle for the Flyers is how much they would be willing to pay Nylander on a new contract.
If after all this time, the Leafs and Nylander fail to come to any agreement on a contract and Dubas is unable to get what he considers good value in a trade, it will be considered a failure on both sides to reach some sort of accommodation, but Toronto will still retain the winger’s rights and have the option of dealing him before the February 25th trade deadline to help their Stanley Cup run or wait until next June to shop him at the NHL Draft.
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