Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Tuesday night that there's a "chance" the deal gets done this week.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Tuesday night that there's a "chance" the deal gets done this week.
Work reportedly still needs to be done for the Maple Leafs to get William Nylander signed ahead of next season.
Several reports have come out this week stating that Toronto and Nylander's camp are close to a deal, but according to TSN insider Chris Johnston, who appeared on Leafs Morning Take on Friday, talks have slowed down a bit.
"It seems to have cooled a little bit after it spiked up a bit this week," Johnston reported.
"I mean, the truth of the matter here is that the Leafs and William Nylander's agent have been talking all season long. I think it's been a long grind of a negotiation, and that dialogue will continue. But they're getting closer and closer to where I think both sides recognize that it would be nice to get a deal done, get it put to bed long before the trade deadline, perhaps even before the All-Star weekend comes to Toronto at the start of February.
"But the fact remains that they haven't quite got to the point where both sides are comfortable with the deal. It seems as though they're well-aligned on an eight-year contract. I think there's an understanding between both (sides) that it's going to be above $11 million if they get it done."
During Friday's edition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported something similar, but that the deal could get completed fast if Nylander's camp likes the number.
"I wrote something today (Thursday), and nobody disputed it. There's a deal there," Friedman said. "There's a deal there, and it's ready to get done. And I've had several people tell me that what they believe, and I believe this information, is if the answer was, 'yes, we take the deal,' it could get done very quickly."
Nylander is having the most successful season of his career, scoring 19 goals and 32 assists for 51 points in 36 games this year. The 27-year-old forward sits sixth in the NHL for points behind David Pastrnak (53), Artemi Panarin (53), Connor McDavid (53), Nikita Kucherov (64), and Nathan MacKinnon (64).
He leads the Maple Leafs in scoring and is on pace for 116 points if he plays all 82 games this season.
The 27-year-old also set a Maple Leafs franchise record for the longest point streak to start a season at 17 games. Nylander is in the final year of a six-year, $45 million deal he signed in Dec. 2018, making him a free agent on July 1 if a contract doesn't get signed with Toronto.
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