On Toronto Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk …
Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star: The Toronto Maple Leafs will need to sign Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander to a big deals in the future. James van Riemsdyk has a year left on his $4.25 million deal, and it’s believed that he is asking for around $6 million on a contract extension.
If the Maple Leafs want to trade for a defenseman, van Riemsdyk could be their biggest trade chip. His name has already been in the rumor mill, and that will likely continue.
“That’s stuff you can’t worry about as a player,” van Riemsdyk said. “It’s out of your control. I just want to go out there, play, and be a productive member of the team, and hopefully the rest of it figures itself out.”
On the New York Islanders and John Tavares …
Brian Comptom of NHL.com: John Tavares continues to say he wants to remain with the New York Islanders. Some feel that if that is the case, why hasn’t he re-signed already.
“Things are a lot more complicated than they think,” Tavares told NHL.com. “I think everyone’s situation is different, everyone’s circumstances are different, but you look at some of the situations with guys in similar situations that I’m in, it doesn’t always happen the first day or that first month. It takes time. It’s a big decision in your life and you want to make sure you’re thorough and you understand everything going forward, so I think anybody making any decision like this in life would approach it the same way.
“There are a lot of things that are of importance as well, like the start of the season. For management, obviously they’re doing what they need to do to, whether it’s the draft or free agency and then heading into training camp, making sure we’re ready to start from Day 1. To me, that’s the most important thing.”
Tavares wants to know the Islanders long-term plan before committing – including where they will be playing.
He realizes he’ll be continually be asked about it by the media but just wants to focus on the season.
Arthus Staple: Islanders teammate Andrew Ladd on all the Tavares talk: “I think we know more in here than everybody else on the outside, so we’re comfortable where it’s at.”