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TORONTO – William Nylander Coach Mike Babbad said Thursday that his team should be a Toronto Maple Leafs player for a long time.
"I'll tell you again, that's what I think, and that's exactly what I think," Babbad said. " [General manager] Kyle [Dubas] and I'm talking about it every day, so I'm aware of what's going on. There are many opinions there. Let's not confuse opinions and facts; we think Willy is going to be here. We think Willy will be here for a long time. We think he's going to make a career in Leaf. That's what we think, that's what we believe. "
Nylander, a restricted free agent, must sign before Saturday at 17 hours. AND be eligible to play this season.
The 22-year-old striker, who has scored 61 points in each of the last two seasons of the NHL, has been working with AIK, the Swedish league's hockey club, since September, the sports director said recently. from AIK, Anders Gozzi, to the Swedish TV4 newspaper.
Babbad has been consistent in recent comments that he believes Nylander will sign with the Maple Leafs.
"I mean, Willy loves hockey," Babbad said last week. "I know Willy well, he's a great teammate and a good person, he likes hockey, he wants to play hockey."
To the front Auston Matthews said Thursday that he hoped his former mate would be back soon.
"I think we're just going to let that go on its own," Matthews said. "It's obviously out of our control." We obviously want it here and we hope to have it here as soon as possible. But time is running out, but we really hope to have it because it's part of this team. "
Matthews had missed 14 games due to a left shoulder injury before returning with two goals and a pbad in a 5-3 win against the San Jose Sharks at the Scotiabank Arena Wednesday.
Toronto (18-8-0) is second in the Atlantic Division; they have 36 points, tied with the Buffalo Sabers, but the Maple Leafs played one more game (26-25).
Matthews said that he had been in contact with Nylander since the beginning of the season but that he had avoided the subject of Nylander's contract.
"I've talked to him a few times but I do not really mind him because I can imagine what he's going through," said Matthews, who can become a restricted free agent on July 1. "You know he wants to be here, he wants to play hockey.
"We all really hope that this will be solved so that we do not get this issue every day in the media and we can just focus on the things that help this team." But as I said, he plays an important role in this You know that he wants to be here and I think everyone is expecting him to be here very soon. "
Babbad said that if Nylander signed, he was not expecting to put Nylander on the program.
The Maple Leafs begin a road trip of two games against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center on Saturday (at 7 pm ET, CBC, SN1, FS-N +, NHL.TV), then play the Sabers at KeyBank Center on Tuesday. .
"Willy is a good player, he is in great shape, he has good qualities and he can skate," Babbad said Wednesday. "I have no reason to think of anything, but I just think Willy likes it here, we like it here and he does a lot of it, we think he'll be back." and we think it'll be up and running a few weeks, but we'll play it when it comes back. "
Despite the absence of Nylander, the Maple Leafs are third in the NHL with an average of 3.58 goals per game, behind the Colorado Avalanche (3.80) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (3). , 68).
To the front Mitchell Marner said that he believed that Nylander would make the Toronto offense even more powerful.
"When he comes back here, it will add depth to our lineup and make us even more deadly," said Marner.
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