RUMOR: William Nylander Could Be On The Move Out West?

According to a new rumor on HockeyBuzz.com the Vancouver Canucks are interested in acquiring William Nylander.

While this rumor does not lay out specific terms for a deal it does add another team to the Nylander talks. The Canucks have a growing prospect pool with several valuable assets. They also have a star of their own without a contract in Elias Pettersson. This situation could set up a Swede for Swede swap if both sides can make extensions work with their other's player.

With each passing day the William Nylander contract situation becomes more of a story. He is a free agent this upcoming summer and loses potential trade value with each game that goes by once the season starts. If the Leafs and Nylander are truly far apart exploring trades with suitors like the Vancouver Canucks might be the best option.

The Maple Leafs have the rest of their core locked in for next season and young players like Matthew Knies and Nick Robertson waiting for a chance to contribute. Moving Nylander could give Toronto an opportunity to see if these young guys can play and fill that role. If they can't then the Leafs just use the available cap space left by Nylander to go get an impact forward.

As the offseason comes to a close and the regular season begins Nylander and his contract will be the talk of the town in Toronto. It will be interesting to see how long it takes before fans, media and even potentially management begin to panic. Hopefully for all sides involved it works out for the best but we will have to find out.