Nylander doesn't have an extension, so does that mean he's not in the plans?
My guess is both parties are fine with taking this to July 1st.
JVR probably wants to stay, but he also realizes this is likely his last shot at a huge payday. There are pressures from the PA to not undercut the market by taking huge discounts. If a team offers him $7M x 7 and the Leafs are at $6M x 5, he has to leave.
On the flip side, I'm sure Lou would like to keep the player on a 4-5 year deal. But he's unlikely to jump on that in the middle of a career year.
I do agree Tavares is an issue here that complicates matters. JT is the type of player that almost never legitimately hits the UFA market. If you're the Leafs, you have to leave yourself as much wiggle room as possible in case he wants to play here. If he doesn't, then you have to look at options related to a guy like JVR.
Ultimately my assumption is JVR will get an offer he can't refuse from another team and JT will sign somewhere else. But who knows how things will shake out.
