1. William Nylander
William Nylander is the beginning of the downfall of the Toronto Maple Leafs due to the salary cap. He’s the first player who needs to be paid, but they’re unable to find the money to meet his demand for the long run.
The 22-year old is a pending restricted free agent who’s refused to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs because general manager Kyle Dubas reportedly expects him to take a pay cut to win now and get his money later in his career. Unfortunately for Nylander, he’s currently a year away from salary arbitration which could’ve prevented this entire situation.
The Canadian born winger was drafted eighth overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the year the Columbus Blue Jackets drafted forward Sonny Milano sixteenth overall. Since then, Nylander has put up two seasons with over sixty points in two career full NHL seasons.
If acquired, Nylander would almost certainly contend with Artemi Panarin for being the top forward on the Columbus Blue Jackets. With Nylander’s status as a restricted free agent, he’d also be required to stick around with the team for quite a while, unlike Panarin.
Adding Nylander to an already talented top six would solidify the Blue Jackets as a regular playoff contending team. The longer he holds out, the cheaper the price to acquire Nylander would be.
With the division rival Carolina Hurricanes being rumored as a potential landing spot for the forward, it would be a good idea to try to prevent him from ending up there and solidifying an already strong offense.