Rumors have been swirling around forward William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Could the Panthers swoop in at the last minute and bring him to South Florida?
Ever since the offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander have been at a standoff as they try to agree to a deal that would bring Nylander back to the Leafs.
As things stand now, it still appears as if the Maple Leafs are simply not offering Nylander the money that he feels he deserves.
While it does seem like the Leafs are continuing to work out a deal to re-sign Nylander, there have been plenty of rumors of them possibly trading Nylander away; especially if they can get a top-four defenseman.
While a week ago, the Florida Panthers were not really in need of acquiring Nylander, but due to Trocheck’s injury, the Panthers could use another weapon in their top-six.
While they still have offensive firepower in Barkov, Hoffman, Dadonov, and Huberdeau, the Panthers could use another star forward to go along with that group.
It’s important to remember that many thought that last year the Panthers were just one top-six forward away from being a true contender.
While they did go out and acquire Hoffman to fulfill that requirement, they lost arguably their 2nd best player on the team for the foreseeable future.
Not only have the Panthers lost Trocheck for a good portion of time, but they are currently completely under-performing in every possible way.
What looked to be a year where the Panthers finally pushed themselves into the conversation as a Stanley Cup contender has now looked like a mirror image of the season last year.
With this completely unacceptable start to the season, the Panthers could look to change things up as they strive to live up to this year’s expectations.
It’s worth noting that the Panthers have not been circled in any official rumors (other than this mild one) in regards to William Nylander. However, for the sake of this exercise, let’s take a look at how the Panthers could bring his services down to Sunrise and whether it would be worth doing so.
If the Leafs are going to trade Nylander, it starts with receiving a young and talented defenseman. The Panthers have exactly what the Leafs are looking for in Mike Matheson.
Matheson’s game is still evolving as a young defenseman, but he is known to be an offensive defenseman who isn’t afraid to jump up in the play to try and score.
Through 19 games this season, Matheson has 1 goal and 8 assists to combine for 9 points. However, his defensive game has struggled as of late.
For those who watch Panthers games, it’s obvious that Matheson is known for his troubling turnovers and mental lapses during the games. These mistakes often lead to glorious scoring opportunities for the opponents which then end up in the back of the net.
Letting go of Matheson wouldn’t be a backbreaker for the Panthers as they are in need of more defensive defensemen due to the multiple variety of defensive breakdowns so far this season.
Another piece that is a must for the Maple Leafs is to acquire a 1st round pick. This should come as no surprise as Nylander is a star player, and the Leafs’ front office deserves to receive a future 1st round pick.
The last piece that could make this deal work is to give the Leafs a young forward (preferably top-nine). If Trocheck wasn’t injured, the Cats could offer Nick Bjugstad, but Trocheck is hurt and the Panthers are currently in need of Bjugstad.
So, this would likely mean that the Panthers would have to cough up Owen Tippett to Toronto. While Tippett is still very young, the Panthers don’t seem like they are in any rush to bring him up to the NHL.
As the days continue to pass, the Owen Tippett situation continues to look more and more like what the Panthers did with Lawson Crouse. It might hurt to part with such a young budding forward, but the Panthers may feel like it’s needed if they want to be competitive this year.
In summary, the deal would look like this:
Now, is Nylander really worth all that? It really depends. How desperate is the Panthers’ front office? Right now, they are staring at yet another season of mediocrity (at best).
Are they willing to part with key components of their current team and future in order to light a spark to this Panthers team?
Had Trocheck not been seriously injured, it would be highly doubtful that the Panthers would make this move, but the injury might just force Dale Tallon (who should be on the hot seat) to make such a move.
The Panthers cannot afford another season of not making the playoffs. This franchise is starved for a team that can contend for the Stanley Cup. That is the bottom line.
With the deadline for Nylander to agree to a deal with any team just less than a week away, it will be interesting to see what the Panthers do.
Keep an eye out on the William Nylander situation as December 1st approaches in our calendar.
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