For the first time since signing with the Maple Leafs, William Nylander spoke to reporters after completing his team medicals on Monday afternoon.
One of the takeaways from his scrum was the speculation that Nylander could've been traded instead of being re-signed to the six-year extension he eventually inked just minutes before the 5 pm deadline on Saturday, or if the Leafs run into salary cap issues sometime down the road.
After Nylander, who holds a 10-team NTC in the final year of the extension finished speaking in the scrum, general manager Kyle Dubas fielded questions and double downed on the notion of not trading the 22-year-old.
Dubas told reporters on Saturday that the deal came together after Nylander and his agent reached out to the Leafs camp and expressed their desire to get a deal done in the final hour.
While Nylander won't have to go through the same process again, as the deal signed him through a year of unrestricted free agency, Dubas will have to lock up restricted free agents Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews at season's end. The Leafs GM noted that he’ll use the Nylander impasse as a learning experience, but without any future holdouts.
The Leafs play in Buffalo on Tuesday and are home to the Red Wings and Bruins on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Depending on the results from the testing and how Nylander adjusts to the pace of practice, it could be a week or so before he draws back into the lineup.
