A bridge deal for Nylander would help the Maple Leafs out in the short-term
Jared Clinton of The Hockey News: There had been some speculation that William Nylander is looking for more than $8 million a season on a long-term deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs may be more comfortable in the $6 to $6.5 million range.
Nylander has put up similar numbers as Leon Draisaitl and he signed an $8.5 million deal, though Draisaitl is a center and Nylander plays on the wing.
The Leafs could be looking at Winnipeg Jets Nikolaj Ehlers and his deal at $6 million per.
A short-term bridge deal would offer the Maple Leafs some financial flexibility for a couple seasons, especially with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner needing new contracts after the season. It would also help with additional salary cap space at the trade deadline this year and next.
What about a three-year bridge deal like Nikita Kucherov signed with the Lightning at about $4.8 million? It saved the Lightning at the start of the deal but ended up costing more after he signed his eight-year deal at $9.5 million per this offseason.
So a bridge deal would help the Leafs now, and if Nylander is willing to gamble on himself, he could put himself into a better financial situation in the future.
The Predators are open to the idea of extending Rinne
Adam Vingan of The Athletic: Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne will be 36-years old at the start of November and he’s entering the final year of his seven-year, $7 million per year deal. You have to think at some point during camp that the Predators and Rinne will sit down to discuss his future.
Predators GM David Poile is open to the idea of re-signing Rinne if their viewpoints align.
“I want to talk to Pekka first and lay out everything that I can see in our organization and specifically with our goaltending,” Poile said. “As a veteran player, I would probably tell him a little bit more than others in terms of what I see in the next two to three years. I don’t want to put a number to what I think his timeframe is. He’s going to be (36). There’s not a lot of goalies that have played in the National Hockey League from that age going forward.
“I can tell you that, bottom line, my goal would be, along with Pekka’s agreement, to have him play his entire career here. That would be my goal. … We have to find a way to make that work for both of us.”
The Predators signed Juuse Saros for another three years this offseason, and even Rinne knows he’s ready for more games.