Babcock strongly hints at a bombshell regarding William Nylander.

If you were one of the Toronto Maple Leafs fans that was hoping to see young forward William Nylander traded for daring to hold out this long into the season, you may end up disappointed. 

We still have no real way of knowing which way things will go between the talented Swedish forward and the Toronto Maple Leafs organization but there seems to be a great deal of confidence about his eventual return to the team nonetheless. Now to be clear I have heard nothing from either Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas or the Nylander camp in regards to this being a done deal, but comments made tonight by head coach Mike Babcock as well as a report earlier this week appear to indicate that Nylander signing with the Leafs is where this one is going.

Babcock was asked about both the status of Toronto Maple Leafs superstar center Auston Matthews as well as the status of restricted free agent William Nylander and his response to those questions left very little doubt about what the head coach is expecting to see come December in his line up.

“It’s my assumption we’re getting both back,” said Babcock as per Sportsnet's Luke Fox.

Babcock has been hinting at a return fir Nylander for the better part of the last several days and it certainly seems like something has happened behind the scenes to make him very confident regarding Nylander's come back to the Maple Leafs. That of course is pure speculation at this time but as I mentioned earlier there has been one report that would indicate things are getting close between the two sides.

Just 2 short days ago former National Hockey League star Marc Savard reported that an anonymous insider had informed him that $6.9 million per season would be the number that it would take to have Nylander back in a Maple Leafs' uniform prior to December 1st. That number seems more in like with what the Leafs were prepared to give him than the reported $8 million plus per season that Nylander was reportedly demanding at the start of negotiations. Savard certainly is not a journalist but he is an established and respected figure in the NHL community and I highly doubt he would sully his reputation with nonsense like this if he did not have a legitimate source on this story. 

Combine that with Babcock's comments tonight and it sounds very much like Nylander may be on his way back to Toronto sooner rather than later.

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