Training Camp, Pre-Season and 19 games into the regular season and here we still sit awaiting any movement from the Leafs only contract holdout this season William Nylander. For a while now we’ve heard GM Kyle Dubas state he is not trading Nylander and they will come to terms on an agreement. But as the deadline looms rumors have squeeked through the cracks and it appears Dubas is still looking to sign Nylander but now has accepted that the young forward might either sit out or they can trade him for some value.
It was reported on November 10th by Elliot Friedman that the Leafs have indicated that Nylander is available and have asked teams to put forward what is available and what is not.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1061442109868134400
With that being said I want to give everyone an idea of what the packages are that have been floating around recently for Nylander.
I’ve heard 4 teams are in hard for Nylander. 2 of the 4 teams are basically all hands on deck for Nylander.
The 4 teams are Carolina, St.Louis, Los Angeles, and Anaheim
The 2 teams that are all in are Carolina and St.Louis
I’ve heard as many as 7 other teams have kicked tires, a few of those being New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins, and Philadelphia Flyers. But it appears the asking price is too much for these teams. The Leafs seem to be wanting a top 4 defender and a top 9 winger. I will tell you some of the deals flying around out their and do my best to explain what the Leafs will be getting in return.
Offer #1 – Anaheim and Toronto
To Anaheim: William Nylander
To Toronto: Brandon Montour and Nick Ritchie
Montour is a 2nd round pick of the Anaheim Ducks who stepped onto their defence and has made significant contributions. Montour’s style of play is most likely compared to Tyson Barrie, which shouldn’t be very interesting for Toronto. Barrie is a turnover machine who gets caught out of position all the time. But Montour’s offensive upside is huge, he’s a great skater and has great vision. Nick Ritchie doesn’t really make much sense for Toronto, he hasn’t shown much offensive upside since coming to the NHL and seems like more of a player built for the truculence era. To me this deal doesn’t make much sense. The Leafs don’t need grit they are a speed/skill team and Montour is a younger version of Jake Gardiner.
Offer #2 – Los Angeles and Toronto
To LA: William Nylander
To Toronto: Jake Muzzin, Adrian Kempe and a draft pick.
Jake Muzzin is your prototype 2way defencemen, good wrister, good passer and pretty hard nosed in the defensive zone. He will block shots and has a good stick. Kind of the defender the Leafs are looking for. One problem exists Muzzin is 32 and I’m pretty sure the Leafs would rather keep the defencemen they get young. Kempe is an intriguing piece, he has some serious upside but has yet to show a lot in his short time. But this could be possible to the structure that the Kings have played. Once again not a fan of this deal for the reason of the age of Muzzin.
Offer #3 – Toronto and St. Louis
To St.Louis: William Nylander & Martin Marincin
To Toronto: Colton Parayko & Nikita Soshnikov
This deal feels like it’s NHL 19 and I want to smash the accept button. Colton Parayko is everything the Leafs could want in a defender and more. Great shot, blocks shots, hits, great first pass, right handed shot and he’s 6’6 and only 26. Getting rid of Marincin and getting Soshnikov back would only add to this deal. Love this deal for Toronto and is my 2nd favorite offer.
Offer #4 – Toronto and Carolina
To Carolina: Williams Nylander
To Toronto: Brett Pesce, Teuvo Teravainen and a 1st round pick
This deal is jaw dropping. Brett Pesce is considered by most scouts, and analysts to be an elite shutdown defender, who can skate and put some points on the board. Pesce is 6’3 and willing to do everything including block shots from Zdeno Chara. Teravainen offers some more scoring in the bottom 6 with potential to move up to the top 6 and the 1st round pick could be anything. This is my favorite deal as I am a huge fan of Pesce.
But that’s all the information I got on the situation. If you have heard anything else be sure to hit me up in the comments or on twitter @gardskie.
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