Toronto Maple Leafs: William Nylander breaks silence on contract negotiations
With no word on whether the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander are close to signing a contract extension, the forward finally breaks his silence on his situation.
A day after Toronto Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan provided his thoughts on the ongoing contract negotiations between the team and William Nylander, it was the player’s turn to give his thoughts.
The 22-year-old remains in Sweden while his agent negotiates with Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. According to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, Nylander is training with a skating coach and doing intense training camp in order to be prepared for his return to the NHL.
It has been a frustrating couple of weeks for Leafs fans as they wait for the team to come to an agreement with the restricted free agent and unfortunately, it doesn’t look like it’s coming anytime soon.
"“Right now, I do not know more than all the rest of you,” Nylander told Aftonbladet. “I have not received any messages and have no contact with Toronto. It’s my agent who takes care of everything.”"
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The longer Nylander holds out the more he loses in salary but considering who his father is, he shouldn’t have a problem being patient. The issue is we have no idea what the player is looking for? Some are suggesting he wants north of $8 million which many would consider being too much for him.
On the flip side, people also know that the young winger could exceed that value if he reaches his potential but there’s a risk both the team and player are making.
It also appears that Nylander’s agent is keeping his client focused on his value and trying to do what’s right for him rather than solely thinking about the team.
"“In the end I have to take care of myself and do what I and my agent thinks is right. Especially if it’s about several years to come. I need to think long term. It’s my own future it’s about.”"
While it’s not wrong for Nylander to have that thought process but as Shanahan pointed out, he wants his players to also think about winning. At the same time, how much should the player have to sacrifice to make it happen?
Even Auston Matthews doesn’t to be concerned about his upcoming contract negotiations but didn’t seem too keen on Shanahan’s philosophy.
"“That’s why we have agents, right? They can talk to management, and we’ll just play hockey,” Matthews told reporters on Wednesday night."
This doesn’t appear to be a major issue, the Leafs will need to handle this delicately when it comes to their players’ desires during contract negotiations.
Hopefully, the players see how other teams have built their winning teams and Dubas is able to convince his players to follow that. At the same time, the players can’t totally give in since they do have rights in these situations.
Next. Time to reduce Ron Hainsey’s role. dark
What do you think about the latest word from Nylander? Are you concerned with the lack of process? Let us know in the comments below.