Toronto Maple Leafs: Is William Nylander trying to avoid a trade?

It doesn’t look like the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander are close to getting a deal done with the winger holding out for the right contract.

Without William Nylander, the Toronto Maple Leafs offence hasn’t missed a beat without but imagine how much better it would be with him in the lineup.

As the weeks go along without the 22-year-old, the impatience from the fanbase continues to grow thinner especially with the rumoured gap between the Leafs and Nylander.

Everybody has mentioned the comparable contracts and why a deal in the $6-6.5 million range would make sense for both the team and the player. There’s also the overwhelming majority who believe the reported $8-8.5 that Nylander is looking to get is not reasonable given how he hasn’t reached that level yet.

With each passing day, it feels like some are starting to warm up to the idea of exploring a trade involving Nylander for a defenceman. While that’s not a possibility the Leafs are considering or need to at this moment, it’s probably been a scenario Nylander is considering.

More from Toronto Maple Leafs

• Maple Leafs Rumours: Half of NHL teams interested in Ilya Mikheyev
• Toronto Maple Leafs: How to address the goaltender position
• Leafs reward Timothy Liljegren with extension after breakout season
• Maple Leafs: Jack Campbell situation becoming increasingly uncertain
• Jason Spezza retires, joins Toronto Maple Leafs front office

If he were to sign at a deal where he takes a “hometown discount” the Leafs could find it easier to move him down the road.

This was something Pierre LeBrun discussed on Leafs Lunch when he brought up the fact that teams have made calls on Nylander and reached out to his agent since he’s technically a free agent. However, any team trading for Nylander is going to deal with a similar issue with contract talks unless they’re willing to give him what he wants.

What has worked against Nylander is the fact that the Leafs aren’t in a desperate position to sign him and it doesn’t look like he wants to go anywhere since he hasn’t signed an offer sheet or request a trade.

So where exactly does this trade idea come from? Well former Leafs GM Brian Burke was on Prime Time Sports with Bob McCown and Stephen Brunt to discuss the Nylander contract situation and how it could end up working as a sign and trade.

Now some might take issue with Burke commenting on a situation like this but given his experience with these types of situations, it can’t be totally ignored. The chances of Nylander being moved seem rather unlikely but he’s not making this decision easy for the team.

If signing Nylander gets in the way of the Leafs securing Auston Matthews or Mitch Marner, then Kyle Dubas might have to make that call but the Leafs seem confident that they can get a deal done and maybe Nylander needs to decide what’s more important to him.

Do you think the Leafs are in a position where they should contemplate trading Nylander? Is there a possibility where a deal can get done? Let us know in the comments below.