Nylander impasse a pall on Leafs’ camp
Talented winger remains in Sweden
There were smiles abound on the first day of training camp for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the kind of smiles you find on the first day of school. Everything seems new and fresh and exciting and optimistic and almost giggly until you mention the name William Nylander.
That when’s you get a pause, and then some frustration. And complete uncertainty.
The Stanley Cup favourite Leafs — the online bookies say that, I don’t — take to the ice in Niagara Falls, Ont., Friday morning for their first skate of camp with Auston Matthews. the draft pick prize of all Leaf prizes, centring a line of Tyler Ennis and Patrick Marleau. That’s not exactly exciting or optimistic. Matthews needs to be ready to play for real in October and Marleau will try to keep up with Matthews and be a central figure in a new situation while Nylander, coach Mike Babcock’s chosen right winger for the line, remains in Sweden, at odds with the Leafs with regard to a contract.
He wants more money than the Leafs are willing to pay. And he wants more term. The Leafs, from what I’m told, would prefer to do a bridge deal with Nylander, the way Montreal did a bridge contract once upon a time with P.K. Subban.
You pay less to start and if the player turns out the way Nylander expects himself to turn out — and the Leafs, truly, expect him to emerge as well — then betting on himself pays off in the end. It paid off in a big way financially for Subban.
There is another factor that has nothing to do with Nylander or the Leafs. It’s about the expectation the NHL will be facing another lockout in 2020. Players have been signing large contracts in recent years with more annual bonus clauses in their deals than actual salary. It’s basically protection against a potential lockout. A bridge deal won’t necessarily afford Nylander the kind of lockout protection players today are looking for, which is among the reasons the Nylander camp is looking long-term rather than playing the short game.
The Leafs need Nylander in camp, not just to complete their roster but to provide Matthews with a winger of similar skill levels. And to make certain the Leafs have two explosive forward lines, one with John Tavares and Mitch Marner, one with Matthews and Nylander.
There are two distinct ways of viewing Nylander’s first two full seasons with the Leafs. One is to suggest that he and Matthews fit well together, have first line chemistry, and in the playoff series against Washington in 2017, they were the Leafs best two forwards. That, along with two 60-point seasons for Nylander, is the selling point from his side of the equation.
The other side is more dubious. Nylander, playing with one of the league’s best players in Matthews, has only scored 42 goals in two seasons playing on the first line. Worse than that, in 13 playoff games against Washington and Boston, he’s only had two post-season goals. Those aren’t statistics commensurate with a $7- or $8-million a year player. Maybe not even a $6-million a year player.
Nik Ehlers of Winnipeg, born the same year as Nylander, signed with the Jets for seven years and $42 million. So far, he’s more accomplished than Nylander.
So has Boston’s David Pastrnak, who went crazy scoring against Nylander’s line in the playoffs, and signed for just under $42 million over six years.
Long term, Nylander should come in just under Ehlers and Pastrnak in terms of years and money. Short term, it gets complicated, and if the Leafs stick to their guns on a bridge contract, this holdout could be longer and more painful than anyone wants it to be.
For his part, Nylander was missing from camp as players went through their medicals, interviews and photos on Thursday.
The ice stuff, for real, begins Friday. The pre-season games come quickly with games Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It’s all happening fast with no update from the Leafs on any pending deal.
WHEN HE’S ON, WHICH ISN’T OFTEN ENOUGH, HE CAN CHANGE GAMES.
A call placed to Nylander’s agent — Lewis Gross — Thursday was not returned.
If Nylander was close to a deal, you would think at least he’d be in the Toronto area, and ready to go in the event of a new deal. But he’s home in Sweden, steadfast as the negotiations are being conducted by his agent and no one is expecting this to end quickly.
Ever the coach, Babcock said it presents a great opportunity for Ennis, a threetime 20-goal scorer who has lost his way to get an opportunity. But when a question was asked of Babcock about Matthews getting more assists than goals for the first time, he didn’t reference Ennis. He referenced how many times Nylander would shoot the puck top corner.
Nylander can do that. He has a monster shot. He has major league hands and big league skills. When he’s on, which isn’t often enough, he can change games. The Leafs need him back for their team, for Matthews, for all the pieces to fit together on this contender.
The history of the holdout isn’t one of celebration in hockey. Nylander needs to sign and soon. The better for him, the better for the hockey club, the more complete it will feel for this contender facing somewhat similar negotiations upcoming with Matthews and Marner. This is the first one. It isn’t going well for anyone but Tyler Ennis.