Neither player has any leverage, and the Ducks aren't looking to be good. If anything, them holding out only increases their chances of a successful tank this season.

True, just wonder if thats worth potentially alienating guys who you want to be part of the future core

Them not being signed yet is nothing new with RFA's coming off ELC's. The fact that so many were signing early in recent years is the anomaly. Ducks aren't going to move them

Nylander held out until December 1 and he's still a major part of the Maple Leafs. I don't think that's as big of a deal as you suggest.

Ducks are playing with fire here, many teams are gonna be running LTIR rosters and teams like Montreal will have the option of sending an OS (not saying anyone will just that's the risk once the season starts).

He is a big part but he has also been rumored to be on the block for the last 2 years or at least the odd man out in Toronto when their cap situation comes to a head.

If that happens, they'll just match it and thank the offering team for finalizing negotiations for them. The Ducks have more cap space than every single other team out there.

Only way this happens is if Korchinski goes the other way.

It was widely reported that Dubas personally guaranteed him that he wouldn't be traded before his contract ended. Part of Nylander's worry was that a team-friendly deal would make him attractive on the trade market, and he wanted to stay a Leaf long term. After the assurance, he was willing to sign.

Dubas is gone now, and with the lack of success in Toronto, Nylander could very well end up somewhere else. However, that has nothing to do with his RFA holdout.

I just dont understand why they arent locking Zegras and Drysdale up then given all their cap space. Theres no benefits for the ducks, all you're doing is risking these guys souring on Verbeek

Because it's the GM's job to look at the long term, and if you give these guys more than they're worth on long term deals, you run into cap hell 4-5 years down the line when you're actually trying to compete. The benefit to the Ducks is that they're not overpaying for guys that haven't proven that they can win hockey games for the franchise. Drysdale isn't even offer sheet eligible.

I think the main difference to the Nylander situation is the contract he was offered to begin with was fair market value and super close to what he actually signed. If Zegras is getting offered 3 mil its reasonable to think that could put the player off more than it did in Nyalnders case

Fair, it just seems silly to run the risk over a few million when you can offer them market value bridge deals that still have very reasonable QOs

If Zegras wants to sign a 6 year deal like Nylander did, I'm sure the Ducks would be willing to pony up significantly more money, as they'd be buying 2 UFA seasons. A 3-year deal gives Zegras the right to accept his QO and go straight to UFA the following year. If Zegras decides that he wants to do that, he'll have to be willing to take significantly less than fair market value.

It's a matter of setting the precedent for all the young talent coming after Zegras and Drysdale. You give too much money or cave in negotiations with the first couple of guys, and you rapidly get into a Dubas Leads situation where too much money is locked up to your core group and you struggle to flush out a roster.

Someone could OS Zegras, but Drysdale is a 10.2C. I will point out the Pat Brisson is no slouch at getting his clients paid, just look at the bulletproof deal he got Tavares all those years ago. Buyout proof, unmovable, and still 11 million per. The leaked "offer" is more than likely a tactic to put pressure on the negotiations or invite an OS in order to get his client a bigger payday.

The only problem is it seems most GMs have sort of a gentlemen's agreement to not offer sheet each other's players.

Dear Kyle Davidson…why is Wyatt Kaiser bailing out Seth Jones ?

Would not pay that much for Drysdale.