NHL Rumors: William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs far apart in contact talks
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SDPN Sports: Chris Johnston and Julian McKenzie on the CJ Show on the contract situation between the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander.

McKenzie: “One other name that’s being looked at a lot with the Toronto Maple Leafs is William Nylander.

What can we say about his status in terms of getting an extension?

Johnston: “Well, it’s not going well. I think that’s fair to say. There is a lot of discussions down at the draft in Nashville between the team and his agent, and they just see the world differently at this point in time.

You know, William Nylander believes he should be a $10 million player or a little bit about that on his next contract. And, you know, he has a reasonable argument, I think, based on the points he’s had. But I just don’t see how the Leafs can ever make that work.

And so ultimately, you know, as they work through this a little further, I think that there’s going to have to be a decision on Nylander’s end about how badly he wants to be a Leaf. How much less than that number he might be able to take. Because I would be stunned if we saw Toronto sign him to a contract that takes him into that realm.

Think the Leafs have come at him with a number in the eights and that’s kind of where things are at.

Sometimes negotiations are rocky though, you, I’m not going to predict where this is headed yet. I still think that the Leafs are will to take some time to try to work through things with Nylander’s camp. Certainly value the player but they’ve got to be mindful of their own books, too.

And so, you know, this contract doesn’t kick in till next summer so in some ways that’s good for Toronto because there is going to be that cap bump league-wide going up but, you know, I think for Nylander, the big worry is he doesn’t want to be paid so much less than Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. He just feels internally that, that, you know, that he has a sense of what should be fair there and the team is looking at the marketplace.

I mean, you get Pierre-Luc Dubois signing an $8.5 million deal. Timo Meier got $8.8 million in New Jersey on an eight-year deal. You know, those are different types of players. Those guys are six foot three, Dubois plays center.

There’s no denying Nylander’s skill and the fact he’s actually been a Leaf that’s been productive in the playoffs. Had a 40-goal year last year, more than 80 points.

Let’s see if they can find a happy medium in there but my sense right now is there’s a bit of a strain in negotiations with the way things have gone. I think that, you know, clearly the Leafs have a number in mind for Nylander and he’s asking for a lot more that what they’re comfortable paying.