Chris18 wrote:
What's his trade value? He's a hold out, like his father, so teams know he has the potential to be a huge pain in the ass. If I'm looking to trade for him, I only want a long term deal, since I don't want him pulling this again after a bridge deal. He's only 22, so a 7-8 year deal would be a good idea for the team anyway, as even $8 million could be a good deal for a player like him down the road with the Cap going up.
But I think Dubas is sniffing some serious amounts of glue if he thinks ALL the RFAs are going to be willing to take team friendly deals after he gave Tavares $11 million. I get that's what he wants, but it's just not realistic. Obviously I'm biased, but Dubas likely created Cap hell for himself with the Tavares deal.
He's a high-end top line forward who can play wing or center, I'd say his value is pretty high.
In the end talent wins out over everything. Even if they get the "pain in the ass" label there'll be teams lining up to take him on and pay him accordingly. And most every team that traded away his old man ended up regretting it (the frickin' Blackhawks dealt him to Washington for Chris Simon and Andrei Nikolishin).
I would like to see this end amicably. I liked Dubas's moxie when he said flat-out in the 31 Thoughts podcast "We can, and we will." when asked if they can fit Nylander and everyone else under the cap in the wake of the Tavares deal.
We'll see what happens if this lingers on for another month. If the Leafs win out then I think his leverage is severely weakened and he opts for the bridge deal.
There's been a push to change the language around "holdouts," which is understandable. It always seems to put the onus on the player to sign whatever's offered to him.
Colorado is likely watching this very closely. Whatever Nylander signs for may affect what happens when it's time to negotiate Mikko Rantanen's new deal.