Other than the Leafs losing out on the player this season or other assets that could help this season (vis a via trade) what is the downside of not signing him and letting him sit out? You would think other GMs around the league would be in silent support of such a move.
I dont think the player gets a year closer to UFA or any other position of power so they are in the same position again except this time the team didnt flinch and the player still has no real negotiating power other than fan pressure and while Nylander is good and could be great he likely isnt worth 1/10 of your cap space.
From what I can gather the only leverage Nylander has is the team missing his abilities which atm Toronto seems to be doing pretty well even without him and to the Leaf fans credit there hasnt been the normal Leaftard nation.
I understand why Nylander is doing this. Edmonton had to pay the Edmonton tax for Leo so Nylander thinks he's Leo and should be paid the same. Toronto expects a discount so they wont pay the Leo price. Nylander has no loyalty to the team (its a business, there is no loyalty, only performance from either side) so why would he take a team friendly deal especially if the team could trade him at any time.
Personally I think the Leafs started the problem when they overpaid for Tavares and cap wise will likely regret it in 3-4 years.
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