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The Maple Leafs return from the land of milk and honey wealthy in factors, whereas William Nylander seems nearer to his long-awaited multi-year payday.
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Nylander’s two objectives and three factors in Toronto’s 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Saturday set the stage for him signing a brand new contract within the subsequent few days.
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As Toronto swept all three California stops on their journey for the third time in 5 years, main scorer Nylander added his twentieth and twenty first objectives and an help.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported through the match that Nylander’s camp and basic supervisor Brad Treliving are nearing settlement on an eight-year deal, with a mean annual worth round $11.5 million US, which could possibly be introduced when the membership returns.
“We’ll see,” the coy Nylander informed reporters in San Jose after the sport in response to the Sportsnet story.
“That might be a dream to remain right here and play for such a company. I name Toronto dwelling.”
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The time period and greenback determine would put the 27-year-old first-round decide in 2014 among the many NHL’s best-paid gamers and second on the workforce’s wage chart to Auston Matthews subsequent season.
The Leafs actually would wish to get this long-discussed deal completed earlier than it distracts from the all-star sport that’s three weeks away, with Nylander probably voted in by followers to affix league choice Matthews.
To summarize the journey, the Maple Leafs beat Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose by a mixed 9-2 rating, with goaltender Martin Jones stopping 81 of 83 pictures. The surge stored them inside seven factors of division-leading Boston, 5 again of runner-up Florida with Toronto having video games in hand on each.
Nylander, who scored off the frenzy with a pleasant launch contained in the put up and a financial institution from behind the web, additionally helped on Mitch Marner’s first-period aim. That’s seven seasons of 20 or extra objectives for Nylander.
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Fellow Swede Calle Jarnkrok added his second aim on the journey, whereas Jones turned apart 23 pictures in his outdated dwelling on the SAP Middle.
In his stable fourth consecutive begin, Jones benefitted from some wonky accuracy from wide-open Sharks earlier than Toronto outshot them 18-3 within the first interval, after getting the identical quantity on Lukas Dostal in Anaheim on Thursday. The Leafs additionally rang three posts — but took a 1-0 lead on Marner’s power-play marker.
On simply the Leafs’ second 5-on-3 of the season, Marner discovered the brief facet on Mackenzie Blackwood, his fortieth profession man-advantage aim. Morgan Rielly’s main help was additionally his thirtieth total this yr.
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The Sharks, who broke Jones’s shutout bid with eight minutes to go by way of Mikael Granlund, got here into the match making an attempt to interrupt their second 10-game dropping streak of the season.
Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe made no lineup modifications from Thursday, which included Pontus Holmberg staying on the third line with Jarnkrok and Max Domi, whose hustle to negate an icing set the stage for Jarnkrok’s tenth aim, assisted by Holmberg instead of the idled Nick Robertson.
“We’ve been fairly darn good defensively right here,” Keefe mentioned of the shot blocks, hole management, boxing out, faceoff win proportion and plenty of different very important particulars which have reversed what was a late December droop. “(It’s) now 5 video games in a row that the quantity of what we’ve given up has been fairly low.”
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The Leafs full a back-to-back versus San Jose on Tuesday at Scotiabank Enviornment. That’s one thing which has by no means occurred, even when each had been within the Western Convention within the Nineteen Nineties. The injured Logan Couture, lengthy a thorn within the Leafs’ facet, could possibly be again from damage for the Sharks.
Jones, who ranks second in Sharks’ profession wins to Evgeni Nabokov, could possibly be able to go once more subsequent week, as Keefe and Treliving will assess the place Ilya Samsonov is at versus taking a look at Dennis Hildeby for his first NHL begin. The veteran Jones now has a document of 7-3-0, a welcome addition in mild of accidents to Matt Murray, Joseph Woll and Samsonov’s breakdown in December.
Winger Noah Gregor made his return to San Jose on Saturday after not being supplied a qualifying contract provide by the Sharks and taking the great distance again to the NHL by way of a PTO with Toronto at coaching camp.
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