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The Will Nye Contract Dispute thread

From the money side of things, it's definitely alluring. Because you know Werenski and Hamilton are going to get $7M+ on their next deals. And the $7M that we'd give to Nylander could probably cover both Kappy and Dermott's next deals.

But unless he's legit one of the best defensive dmen out there who'd improve us by leaps and bounds, I think we'll lose that deal. Having Nylander up front along with the big three plus the emergence of Kappy, and Kadri and Marleau, makes us the most dangerous team in the league. Especially with Rielly and Gardiner back there, and with Dermott looking fantastic. It really badly pains me to lose Nylander for money reasons. I doubt we win any trade where we part with him.

And will adding a defensive LHD to the mix improve us by leaps and bounds anyway?

Thankfully, I think all of this is wasted keystrokes anyway. We'll sign him because he needs to play and get paid this year, and we won't find the right trade for us out there midseason.
 
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Montana said:
Slavin is already a more valuable player than Nylander ....add to that he's on an obscenely team friendly contract, and it's lunacy to think the Canes would need to add to get a deal done.

If they offer Slavin we take it and run....and use the savings to lock up Kap/Dermott.
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Yup.....there is tremendous value having Slavin locked up at that term and $.

He is way more valuable to the Leafs than Willy .
 
But unless he's legit one of the best defensive dmen out there who'd improve us by leaps and bounds, I think we'll lose that deal
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He is. He's one of the few legit young #1 defenders in the league. By legit #1's, I mean guys who can play in all situations and play against top opposition without getting buried. Rielly, Jones, Werenski, Slavin, Trouba, Lindholm and depending on your definition of "buried", Provorov are the only players in that club. Werenski, as noted, benefits by playing with a guy who is better than Werenski at pretty damn much everything, and is legitimately elite, so there's some question marks there.

So yeah, Slavin is one of the best defensive defenders in the league already and is probably the best pure defender in the league under 25 yrs old. That he's somewhere between competent and good at everything else (puck moving, offensive generation, etc) is a bonus with him.
 
I love Willy, but if this deal is on the table, you take it all day, every day. It immediately turns the Leaf blueline into one of the most talented, best balanced bluelines in the league

Rielly-Slavin
Gardiner-Dermott

Is a heavy minute top 4 that can win multiple titles, especially with the offensive attack we have that even without Willy is completely elite.
 
It's a tough call all the way around. We may well improve the team by taking from a strength and adding to a weakness, but I still think we'd lose the exchange itself.

For one thing, do we really need a top defensive dman, so much so that we'd trade a young top line winger who could play center too? We're currently top ten in the league in goals against and PK without a Slavin. We have Lilly and Sandin coming up, while Dermott hasn't even really been given a proper shot yet himself (who frankly looks better than just about anyone right now). We're actually in good shape back there, in my opinion. Next year may be a different story, with Gardiner an unknown and Hainsey probably gone. The kids would need to step up and be ready or we'd probably be in a little trouble. But for now, we're doing pretty damn good, without our top center and winger in the lineup whose roster spots are being occupied by Gauthier and Leivo. I really don't see a glaring need.

We could certainly still improve though, and to do that, do we need to part with Nylander? TB got a couple of years of McDonagh for next to nothing at the deadline. Karlsson may be available next year for free, if you want to bet on him returning to dominant form. There's probably another half dozen guys whose acquisition cost wouldn't come close to Nylander. Wouldn't you rather go down one of those paths than to part with Willy before he's even come close to stepping into his prime?

Also, in terms of need, do we really need D more than C/W? Matty is out and we're doing great, but I'd be pretty nervous if this was playoff time and we were going into it without Matthews in the lineup. Having Slavin on the back end and no Willy to prop up the forward ranks wouldn't make me feel any better. As I argued all year and summer long about Tavares before he signed, center depth is the most important thing a contender can have. Imagine if we'd gone with the majority here and thought signing Tavares was a bad move - would we be in first overall right now with Matty out? No chance. Imagine if we did what some had suggested and moved Kadri for a dman - would we be faring this well? The best thing we have going for us is center depth. Three top guys, and Willy there as backup. And we need all of them to win, imo.

Now, if we have to trade one because Willy just won't be reasonable and sign a fair deal, then our hand is forced and then it's just a matter of the return we can get. And when it comes to that subject, I just wouldn't feel great trading Willy for a guy who isn't amazing at both ends of the ice. As good as he may be defensively, he's just meh offensively. He gets a ton of minutes and that adds to his totals, I think. But he's not all that skilled. Werenski, Hamilton, and some of the others named, who are really good offensively, and just as young or younger, with a chance of higher upside and room for improvement - those are the only guys I'd accept. If you absolutely can't get one of those guys and have to take Slavin, then I guess you made the best deal you could.

But I wouldn't be thrilled in the least if that's what happens when all the dust settles.
 
MindzEye said:
I love Willy, but if this deal is on the table, you take it all day, every day. It immediately turns the Leaf blueline into one of the most talented, best balanced bluelines in the league

Rielly-Slavin
Gardiner-Dermott

Is a heavy minute top 4 that can win multiple titles, especially with the offensive attack we have that even without Willy is completely elite.
Click to expand...

And four lefties. It's not ideal. We have to consciously target a RHD to add to the mix. Werenski is too studly with a ton of upside to dismiss because of which way he shoots, but that's not the case with Slavin. It's square pegging a round hole when we don't have to.
 
MindzEye said:
I love Willy, but if this deal is on the table, you take it all day, every day. It immediately turns the Leaf blueline into one of the most talented, best balanced bluelines in the league

Rielly-Slavin
Gardiner-Dermott

Is a heavy minute top 4 that can win multiple titles, especially with the offensive attack we have that even without Willy is completely elite.
Click to expand...


...with Sandin - Liljegren coming too. Goddamn.


We'd win...not one, not two, not three.....
 
leafman101 said:
Duhachek mentioned Hamilton in an article on the Athletic. Still think he signs, but at these the return talk the last few days is finally about top pairing dman like Slavin, Hamilton and Werenski like it should be.
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For all the talk of Slavin...this is probably what we should be diving in to/debating. Canes aren't moving Slavin, but the Leafs did try to acquire Hamilton earlier this year from Calgary, and only walked away because they refused to talk Marner/Nylander in such a deal.

As Duhatschek points out in his article tho, that was before we landed Tavares & learned just how high Nylanders contract demands are.

Waddell offering up Dougie Hamilton for Nylander might be the most plausible trade offer that's been floated....
 
Rangers fans convincing themselves Skjei being scratched is tied to Willy

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
 
The way the Leafs have been going lately without Mathews i'd give Willy's camp till 12 noon Monday to say ''yes please!'' and ''sorry about that''... after that it's going to cost HIM to buy back in. Sign me up for Slavin..yes please!
 
Chris Johnston reports Leafs don't feel like they have to move out William Nylander by Dec 1, they are willing to let the player sit rather than move him.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk
 
Its also the right thing to leak to apply pressure ln Nylanders camp, and let them know he isn't caving to their demands come Dec 1.

Also benefits trade talks, if other GMs believe you're more than happy letting him sit versus making a dollar for three quarters & a dime type trade.
 
Of course they’ll say that. Only helps leverage with Willy and trade partners.

Just saw Willy with Dougie on an insurance commercial.
 
LeafOfFaith said:
It's a tough call all the way around. We may well improve the team by taking from a strength and adding to a weakness, but I still think we'd lose the exchange itself.

For one thing, do we really need a top defensive dman, so much so that we'd trade a young top line winger who could play center too? We're currently top ten in the league in goals against and PK without a Slavin. We have Lilly and Sandin coming up, while Dermott hasn't even really been given a proper shot yet himself (who frankly looks better than just about anyone right now). We're actually in good shape back there, in my opinion. Next year may be a different story, with Gardiner an unknown and Hainsey probably gone. The kids would need to step up and be ready or we'd probably be in a little trouble. But for now, we're doing pretty damn good, without our top center and winger in the lineup whose roster spots are being occupied by Gauthier and Leivo. I really don't see a glaring need.

We could certainly still improve though, and to do that, do we need to part with Nylander? TB got a couple of years of McDonagh for next to nothing at the deadline. Karlsson may be available next year for free, if you want to bet on him returning to dominant form. There's probably another half dozen guys whose acquisition cost wouldn't come close to Nylander. Wouldn't you rather go down one of those paths than to part with Willy before he's even come close to stepping into his prime?

Also, in terms of need, do we really need D more than C/W? Matty is out and we're doing great, but I'd be pretty nervous if this was playoff time and we were going into it without Matthews in the lineup. Having Slavin on the back end and no Willy to prop up the forward ranks wouldn't make me feel any better. As I argued all year and summer long about Tavares before he signed, center depth is the most important thing a contender can have. Imagine if we'd gone with the majority here and thought signing Tavares was a bad move - would we be in first overall right now with Matty out? No chance. Imagine if we did what some had suggested and moved Kadri for a dman - would we be faring this well? The best thing we have going for us is center depth. Three top guys, and Willy there as backup. And we need all of them to win, imo.

Now, if we have to trade one because Willy just won't be reasonable and sign a fair deal, then our hand is forced and then it's just a matter of the return we can get. And when it comes to that subject, I just wouldn't feel great trading Willy for a guy who isn't amazing at both ends of the ice. As good as he may be defensively, he's just meh offensively. He gets a ton of minutes and that adds to his totals, I think. But he's not all that skilled. Werenski, Hamilton, and some of the others named, who are really good offensively, and just as young or younger, with a chance of higher upside and room for improvement - those are the only guys I'd accept. If you absolutely can't get one of those guys and have to take Slavin, then I guess you made the best deal you could.

But I wouldn't be thrilled in the least if that's what happens when all the dust settles.
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We are top 10 in GA and PK mainly because of Andersen's hot start. And maybe Freddie can continue to be a top 5 goalie the rest of the season, but what about playoff? If you look at the SA, CA and xGA we're definitely not a top 10 defensive team in the league. Heck, we're not even average defensive team in the league.

Now, part of that is defenseman, (and there are other reasons ... use of personnel is one, like how Hainsey and Zaitsev are playing higher than they should, though Babs is coming around on that ... and system and coaching is another but that's topic for another day) ... but to think with a 6 pack of Rielly, Gardiner, Dermott, Zaitsev, Hainsey and Oz this team doesn't need an upgrade on D we're simply over-rating our own D. Yes, we have Liljegren and Sandin in the system, but it's far too early to circle those names into our top 4 for next season, or even 2-3 years from now. Our window of opportunity has already started, we can't wait to contend for the cup 2-3 years down the road when Liljegren or Sandin MAY be ready.

It comes down to the value Nylander and Slavin bring to the team, and while I think Nylander is almost-elite talent (I don't think Nylander is far off from Marner) I also think we can't overlook Slavin's game and stability he can bring to our defensive game. Offensively he's not a complete lost cause either. He can get 30ish points on a bad team like the Canes, he has potential to get close to 40 here in Toronto.

I think for pure talent evaluation, Slavin is a great defensive player who is only 24. We've gotta seriously consider this trade ... this can be a trade that helps both hockey clubs for years to come imo.
 
If willie was playing, would you consider a trade for slavin. No
Let willie sit if slavin is the only and final piece offered
 
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