William Nylander to Play With Suzuki and Caufield? An Analyst Has Proposed This Exciting Possibility

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Aaron
September 18, 2023 (9:25)

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The Montreal Canadiens are building an impressive pipeline with many promising youngsters who will soon be vying for a spot on the main roster.

The organization has solid depth on defense, with several prospects showing promising potential in the NHL. On the offensive front, there are high-quality youngsters, but none project to become an elite player.

In the young core which includes Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, and Juraj Slafkovsky, there's still a lack of that natural offensive producer who can post seasons of over 80 points. This is currently missing from the Canadiens' prospect pool, and unless they draft in the top-3 of the next draft, an attacker of this caliber will always be missing in the coming years.

However, an exceptional opportunity might present itself for Kent Hughes in the summer of 2024. According to David Ettedgui, the former player agent turned analyst, the Canadiens should absolutely target William Nylander.

"I hope they sign him. They absolutely need a player, and they don't have anyone in their system right now, who has that extra notch in his game."

Given his age, as he'll be 28 next May, his acquisition would indeed mesh well with the Canadiens' young leadership group. Coming off a 40-goal, 87-point season last year, the Swede would be a high-quality addition, strengthening a potent top-6 in Montreal.

However, as Ettedgui points out, acquiring Nylander won't happen through a trade but rather by signing him as a free agent.

"The Leafs will never trade him to the Canadiens. If Toronto makes a trade, he won't come to Montreal. But the problem is that if the Leafs want a good return for Nylander, it has to be a sign and trade: from what I understand, he has very high expectations for his next contract."

Considering that Hughes will have over $20M to spend next summer, assuming the salary cap remains the same, there would be ample money available to submit an enticing offer to the Leafs' forward.

Now, it remains to be seen if he is also an interesting target in the eyes of the team's management.