NHL Rumors: Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Boston Bruins

Welcome to another edition of Full Press Hockey’s NHL Rumors! Training camps are right around the corner as the players are returning to their teams as informal practices get underway. There are a couple of prominent players that will need new deals next season. Not to mention one player who has had a change of heart and could stay with his team.

And that is the subject of today’s NHL Rumors as we look at the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, and Boston Bruins.

William Nylander Not Worried About Contract Extension

David Alter of the Hockey News and Ken Campbell of Hockey Unfiltered were on the Full Press NHL Podcast and they both stated Nylander is not worried about his contract negotiations with the team. In fact, it would be in the best interest of the team to take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to Nylander.

David Alter:

“The William Nylander one is tricky and was not as a high priority as Auston Matthews because as good as William Nylander is, he is not Auston Matthews. Brad Treliving can finally breathe and see what he has got. Everything else he can see what his team is with these other guys, including William Nylander. From there, he can decide during the season or earlier about an extension.

Ken Campbell:

“This Maple Leafs team still has some decisions to make before the start of the regular season and one of them is what do you do with William Nylander? Do you do something with him now knowing you may lose him for nothing after a year, or do you just tweak things here and there and park some things in the minors, save that $3 million and keep Nylander? Maybe if you think you have a team that can make a run for it this year you roll the dice here. We are going to play this guy Hopefully he plays out of his mind and we have a great year a long playoff run and then we deal with it. We re-sign or he goes someplace else. It happens. Right.” 

Nylander thinks he is a $10 million player. Maybe he takes less to stay in Toronto a place he wants to be. But he is not worried because it is a year away. And that is rubbing off on GM Brad Treliving who knows he can keep grinding away on an extension but there is no rush to do it right now.

Elias Pettersson and Canucks To Hold Off On Contract Talks

Rob Simpson of Vancouver Hockey Insider joined the Full Press NHL Podcast: Elias Pettersson via his agent J.P. Barry via CAA has stated they are going to hold off on contract talks this summer as his contract expires next summer.

As Simpson said, “That will be the chat all season long. It won’t be every day. Probably every week, and for sure every month we’re gonna hear about it. Because the closer it gets and the further it goes, the more nervous everybody’s gonna get especially if they come to a slow start. If the first month does not go well or in some kind of trouble by Christmas and New Year’s, it is gonna be full on, oh My God Is Pettersson leaving?

It would not surprise me if he does. If he did, I mean I don’t know what going on inside his head. I know what’s going on personally, obviously, but to me, it could go either way, he might say. Considering where he is right now getting out of here and signed a big fat deal with a team that’s got a chance of winning a Stanley Cup and we’ll see. We are just gonna have to wait and see with Pettersson.” 

As with Nylander, Pettersson is going to take his time. He is coming off a season where he played 80 games, recording 39 goals and 102 points. He was back to the level he was when he entered the league with the Canucks winning the Calder Trophy. Pettersson is focusing on playing hockey and not contract talks.

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Jake DeBrusk Hopes To Stay In Boston, But Will He?

In a recent edition of NHL Rumors on Full Press Hockey, we noted that Jake DeBrusk is open to staying with the Bruins. We know the history between the Bruins and DeBrusk. First, he wanted out, and then he wanted back in. It is an interesting dynamic.

The question remains, Will DeBrusk re-sign with the Bruins as he is an unrestricted free agent this upcoming summer?

Well, as Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now stated on the Full Press NHL Podcast, he does not think we end up re-signing.

“I think he is gone. He is either going to be traded or he walks. It’s been such a weird relationship with the Bruins and Jake DeBrusk. I like this kid. He is a nice kid and I think he tries hard. There is not any lack of effort there. He is very skilled. I don’t what it is but they they just can’t seem to connect, for some reason, you know, and I thought he was great last year.

I love the way he came back after everything that happened before, you know, requesting a trade sucking it up, and he was really good. After he stayed at the deadline in 2022. He was really good down the stretch for the Bruins. I hope to keep him. I just don’t see it happening.

But I’ll tell you. I don’t know. It is very interesting that he hasn’t been signed. I mean I know their cap restrictions, but I would lock the kid up. I think he is a keeper. But I got this gut feeling he is gone by the end of this year.”

This is a situation to keep an eye on moving forward.

That does for this edition of NHL Rumors stay tuned for another real soon.