TORONTO - - Mats Sundin saw this scenario play out before, many times.
The former Maple Leafs captain isn’t surprised the club suggested restricted free agent William Nylander take less to remain in Toronto.
“I think (it goes on) in every negotiation for all players in the league,” Sundin said laughing while at the NHL Alumni Awards Gala Wednesday.
Nylander, who is coming off back-to-back 61-point campaigns, is reportedly seeking an extension in the $8 million per year range while the club has countered around $6 million on a long-term deal.
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Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas is trying to come to terms with Nylander on an extension while being mindful of a potential cap crunch down the road with both Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner heading into restricted free agency at the conclusion of the season, and defenseman Jake Gardiner set to be a UFA July 1.
“I think for both William Nylander and the Maple Leafs, you hope the whole situation is going to settle,” Sundin continued. “I think the Toronto Maple Leafs have a great young group of players right now that are going to be able to compete and be one of the best teams in the league for a long time. Hopefully he’ll join the team and they’ll settle that.”
Nylander, the Leafs eighth overall selection at the 2014 NHL draft, scored 20 goals and 41 points in 82 games last season while adding a goal and three helpers in seven playoff games.
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The 22-year-old already missed nine games, but according to NHL Alumni Association executive director, Glenn Healy, taking less isn’t the solution for Nylander.
“Well, I would say this: when Brendan (Shanahan) played, there was no salary cap, so there’s no taking less,” the former Maple Leafs goaltender said. “You took what you got, you took what the club budgeted and I would say that he signed one of the biggest offer sheets ever in the history of the NHL.
“It’s a different world now, we’ve got a salary cap now. We didn’t have a salary cap back then.”
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If Healy were advising a player in Nylander’s situation, the 56-year-old wouldn’t recommend taking a hometown discount.
“I would never say, ‘Take less than your worth’. Take more than your worth,” he said. “Probably not right, probably not going to like it, but that’s the way it goes.
“Set the bar high.”
Healy weighs in on legalized cannabis in Canada
With the Canadian government’s legalization of cannabis officially taking affect last week, Healy says the NHL Alumni Association is looking into cannabis-based products as an alternative to treat injuries.
“I think science has to prove it first,” Healy said. “If science proves it, then I’ll endorse it, but it’s got to be science first, it can’t be me first.
“When I went to Pickering High School, I didn’t get a PhD, certainly didn’t. I knew a little bit about marijuana, it was probably illegal at the time, but we need science first, and if we get that, and it helps our players, then we move on.”
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The NHL and NHLPA currently tests players for cannabis, but a positive result doesn’t lead to any discipline.
Last week Oilers captain Connor McDavid suggested CBD could be a good alternative to treating injuries, should science support it.
Former Flyers enforcer Riley Cote, the creator of Hemp Heals Foundation, is a proponent for the use of cannabidiol (CBD) as a replacement for sleeping pills and other pain medication. Cote and Healy have had discussions, but the former broadcaster is waiting for the results of science before making any firm decisions.
“We’re all in and we’re all-in in lots of different ways,” Healy said. “We’ve got a couple of neurologists that are working with us. It’s not something I’m turning a blind eye to, it’s our players, it’s our life, its our family, it’s kids, it’s wives.
“I don’t get the calls from the players, I get the calls from the wives. I get the calls from the kids so we’re looking into all of it.”