Nylander not worried for Marner
Plenty of time for negotiations, says player who signed Dec. 1 last season after long dispute
William Nylander stepped up to his putt, struck it clean and raised a fist in celebration after the ball dropped in the cup.
If only contract negotiations between Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs were that straightforward.
If anyone knows what the talented winger is feeling as Marner inches closer to restricted free agency, it is Nylander. He was the last Toronto forward to go through what can be a challenging exercise — one that, for him, dragged agonizingly into last December.
“It’s always a tough process, but in the end it will work out for both sides,” Nylander said Thursday during the NHLPA Golf Classic. “It was hard. It was always going back and forth (and) sometimes there’s no talking at all. That’s just a part of negotiations.”
It’s difficult to know how talks between Marner and the Leafs are going, with neither side publicly providing any information of substance, but the fact the two camps have been unable to come to an agreement with free agency set to open Monday has to be concerning from a Toronto perspective.
“I’ve talked to (Marner) a little bit.”
“It’s just the beginning of summer. You’ve got a lot more time to go, so there’s no worries,” Nylander said.
That’s not how many fans are feeling.
General manager Kyle Dubas called getting Marner signed “priority 1” of the off-season but negotiations have moved slowly with the 22-year-old, who led Toronto with career bests in goals (26), assists (68) and points (94) in 2018-19.
Nylander eventually signed a six-year contract worth $45 million (U.S.) to end an impasse that cost him the first two months of last season, but he said speaking face-to-face with Dubas when the GM flew to Europe was what really got the ball rolling.
“That was a big part of it,” Nylander said. “We were kind of at a standstill.”
Dubas said at the NHL draft last week that the Leafs are putting the finishing touches on new contracts with fellow RFA wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson. But getting a deal done with Marner, who was allowed to begin speaking with other teams Wednesday ahead of potentially getting an offer sheet thrown his way when free agency opens Monday, has proven more difficult.
With Auston Matthews ($11.6 million), John Tavares ($11 million), and Nylander ($6.9 million) already chewing up nearly $30 million in salary, the Leafs are walking a fine line with about $19 million in cap space available, and a number of holes that need to be filled on the roster.
Dubas added Toronto won’t necessarily match an offer sheet signed by one of its RFAs and might instead allow the player in question to walk in favour of receiving up to four first-round draft picks as compensation.
Nylander, 23, was perceived as being greedy in some social media and talk radio circles before signing, something that has started to bubble to the surface with Marner rumoured to be asking for a contract in the $10or $11-million range annually.
“The social media part, you just shut that off,” Nylander said. “There’s no reason to be bothered by that stuff. Fans care a lot and they just want you to sign and be there with the team.
“Every player just wants a deal that they think they deserve.”
Nylander never really got going in 2018-19 after his later start.