William Nylander on the first line of the Montreal Canadiens with Caufield and Suzuki: this is what has just been projected by David Ettedgui

PUBLICATION

Elias Edmonson
September 17, 2023 (10:55)

SHARE THIS STORY

As the new season of the Canadiens is upon us, some experts have already started making projections about what the Canadiens' lineup could look like when the team could potentially be aspiring to the Stanley Cup.

As reported by the site Danslescoulisses.com, journalist David Ettedgui took part in this exercise during his appearance on the podcast The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinarao and Ettedgui made a statement that is likely to please Canadiens' fans.

According to him, he could very well see William Nylander at right wing on the Canadiens' first line in 2027 as the latter will be playing his final contract year this season, and there seems to be no talks at the moment between the Maple Leafs and Nylander's camp.

However, this is more of a wish on the part of the journalist than a prediction.

I hope they will sign him. They absolutely need a player, and they don't have any in their system at the moment, who has that extra notch in his game.

In 2023-2024, the Leafs' forward will earn close to 7 million dollars and some sources state that Nylander would be looking for a deal approaching 10 million dollars annually.

Ettedgui added that he does not see Brad Treliving trading his forward to Montreal but that Kent Hughes will have to wait until Nylander becomes a free agent next July 1st.

But there is also the possibility that Nylander might be traded to another team during the season and that we witness a scenario similar to the one of the trade that sent Bo Horvat from Vancouver to the New York Islanders last year.

The Leafs are never going to trade him to the Canadiens. If Toronto can make a trade, he will not come to Montreal. But the problem is, if the Leafs want a good return for Nylander, it has to be a sign-and-trade. But from what I understand, he has very high expectations for his next contract.

That being said, we can most likely forget about a trade between the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs and wish that the Swedish forward stays in Toronto after the trade deadline so that Canadiens' fans keep the hope of seeing Nylander wear the tricolor uniform.

To watch David Ettedgui's segment on the podcast The Sick Podcast, see below.