Ovchinnikov 137
Joined: Apr. 2019
Posts: 10,413
Likes: 11,983
I’m very surprised that his name is being thrown out there in mock trades. His cap hit is large and it would be a lot of money that they could move out for a defenceman. But is it justifiable to trade one of your best players, who, in this past season had 31 goals and is the cheapest of the “big four”?
He’s just entering his prime and if you were to trade him you’d be taking a big hit to your offense. There’s also the fact that a number of NHL teams are trying to spend well below the cap because of financial reasons. Is there a team that would take on that contract? Probably, but I don’t believe many teams are looking into it.
There are 61 players in the NHL that make more money than Nylander and only 22 of those players had more points than him last season.
Every year, he improves drastically. He’s shown he can be a dominant puck carrier, an incredible perimeter goal scorer and someone who I believe has a role on the Toronto Maple Leafs for the rest of his career. Each NHL team needs depth in their group if they want to compete for the Stanley Cup and if you take out Nylander, your depth diminishes.
This year for the Maple Leafs is huge. If they don’t make it past the first round, again, then look for possible changes up front.
Rant over