The Flames could still have plenty of players on the move
Julian McKenzie of The Athletic: Elliotte Friedman has reported that Calgary Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin would like to play in the United States. Forward Mikael Backlund would like to play for a better Stanley Cup contender. Unsure of what Elias Lindholm is thinking.
If the Flames decide to trade the above three, they might well move Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov and Oliver Kylington for futures.
Teams that lose out on acquiring Erik Karlsson could turn their attention to Hanifin.
Could the Maple Leafs let William Nylander play out his contract?
Jonas Siegel of the Athletic: If the Toronto Maple Leafs can’t sign William Nylander to a contract extension, should they let him play out his contract? The easy decision seems to be either sign him or trade him.
The Boston Bruins let David Pastrnak go into the season with no deal and re-signed him on March 2nd. The Colorado Avalanche did this with Gabriel Landeskog, the Washington Capitals with Alex Ovechkin, the Nashville Predators with Filip Forsberg and the Tampa Bay Lightning with Steven Stamkos.
There are obviously lots of cases with the pending UFA walked after the season.
Nylander’s production continues to grow. Do the Leafs see Nylander as someone they want around for a long-time, and vice versa? Do the Maple Leafs have any intention in paying the big money to Nylander?
They have to explore the trade value, but his production isn’t easy to replace, especially if the trade offers are underwhelming. He does have a nice contract at $6.9 million. 95 players make more in the NHL than Nylander does.
He doesn’t have to sign, and what if he scores 50 goals this year? Then what is his worth going to be? What does Nylander’s situation mean for Mitch Marner, who is eligible for a contract extension next offseason. No Nylander gives Marner more leverage.