In today’s rumor rundown, the Vegas Golden Knights are not close on a deal with Shea Theodore, nor are the Devils with left-winger Miles Wood. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs may not be running the risk of an offer sheet for William Nylander, but they are playing with fire and another young forward might be someone Toronto has to worry about.
Shea Theodore and Vegas Not Close
John Shannon tweeted on Monday that the Josh Morrissey and Darnell Nurse bridge contracts should have been the catalyst for a deal to get done with defenseman Shea Theodore in Vegas. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Shannon is saying a source of his notes the two sides are not close to an agreement and it’s hard to know how much time Theodore might miss.
With Nate Schmidt suspended and Vegas failing to land Erik Karlsson, it increases the pressure of the team getting a deal done so as to ice a solid defensive core. It sounds like the big holdup is that Theodore is looking for a long-term deal and the Golden Knights aren’t prepared to give him one at this point.
Related: NHL Rumors: Panarin, Karlsson, More Possible Trades
Maple Leafs at the Risk of Offer Sheets
As fans wait for the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander to sort out their contract extension situation, Darren Dreger was on TSN 1050 on Tuesday and was asked about the possibility of William Nylander signing an offer sheet. With restricted free agents, that’s always a possibility, even if unlikely.
In response, Dreger asked if Nylander was a $7 million player? “Because Toronto is going to be comfortable in the mid-to-low 6s,” Dreger explained. He added, “I think if you get up into Pastrnak territory at 6.7, that where Leafs’ brass starts to twitch a little bit because that’s overpaying for William Nylander.” Dreger said the good news is, most NHL teams probably feel the same way and that $7 million is more than Nylander is worth.
Radio host Gord Miller then brought up what might happen in Toronto next year with players like Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews and the fact the Leafs will be in an even tighter cap situation than they are this summer.
Dreger says that once the Nylander deal gets done (he believes it will get done), the Mathews deal would get done next, and he can’t imagine the Leafs risk letting that contract situation get to the point where a potential offer sheet is a possibility. That said, one player Dreger thought the Leafs might have to worry about is Marner.
“I think Mitch Marner is a little different, though,” he said. Saying Marner would like to sign long-term, the business of hockey contracts is, at the end of the day, a business. If Marner is paired up with John Tavares and he has a huge season, he could price himself out of what Toronto can afford and Dreger believes an opposing team might take advantage and make things uncomfortable for GM Kyle Dubas. “So Marner isn’t out of the question, in terms of an offer sheet target at that point.”
At this stage, based on expectations, Dreger believes a Mathews deal could come in around $11 million, with Marner around $9 million a season. Those numbers are already going to be extremely tight for Toronto.
Related: NHL Rumors: Nurse, Rask, Nash, More
Miles Wood Not Close
Bob McKenzie of TSN gave an update on the Miles Wood situation in New Jersey on Twitter and noted that there has been “virtually no dialogue” of late between the two sides. McKenzie says that Wood may not get the attention of a player like William Nylander or Shea Theodore, but he’s still an important player for the New Jersey.
The 23-year-old left wing had 19 goals and 32 points in 76 games for the Devils last season and that’s not the kind of production you want to take out of your lineup if you can help it.