Ding, Dong, the holdout is dead.
William Nylander signed a six-year deal, announced moments before the 5pm ET deadline, officially putting him back onto the Toronto Maple Leafs. He is expected to travel back to Toronto on Sunday, although it is not exactly clear when he will suit up for the first time.
Either way, the fans, the Leafs, and Nylander are all happy for the saga to be behind them. On Saturday, Nylander spoke for the first time regarding the holdout. In a phone interview with Postmedia, he expressed his longing to play, as well as his decision to refuse a bridge deal in an effort to remain a longtime Leaf.
The following is taken from Terry Koshan’s article in the Toronto Sun:
“I can’t wait to be back. It has been a crazy ride. I wish it would have been done earlier, but I’m very happy to be back with the best fans in the league. I’m very excited.”
“I think it’s amazing,” Nylander said. “I can’t wait to get on the ice with them and start playing games. It has been crazy watching them from home. They are dominating every game. It’s amazing to see the guys step up. It’s what great players do.”
“That was something I wanted,” Nylander said. “I didn’t want a bridge deal. I want to stay in Toronto with all the players that we have and we have a great team. I didn’t want to risk it by signing a bridge deal and not being able to stay, if that was going to happen.”
There are bound to be some fans that still cast a shadow in Nylander’s direction, but from here on you can bet that the young Swede will be doing everything he can to help the team. In his opinion, there is no longer a reason to be bitter.
“Everything worked out good for both sides, so there is nothing to be bitter about. You want to be playing from the beginning of the season, but things happen for a reason and I am just so happy that it’s over.”
We await to see when Nylander returns, and what kind of reception he receives from the fans. One thing is for sure, we’re all relieved to have that signing deadline behind us.
