Breaking: Leafs' Dubas “connects with” surprise suitor regarding Nylander

Some never believe we would get there but we are just one day away from the crucial deadline to sign restricted free agent William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs have yet to sign the young forward... or to trade him... 

Just a little over 24 hours until 5 PM, it still remains to be seen what Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas will decide to do, and now Friday, TSN senior hockey reporter Frank Seravelli revealed that an Eastern Conference team has come in to express interest in the final countdown. 

Seravalli revealed on Twitter that the Philadelphia Flyers are believed to be one of the team’s that’s been in contact with Dubas regarding the 22-year-old player. 

"The Flyers are believed to be among the teams Kyle Dubas has connected with in recent days as he makes the rounds for “last call” on William Nylander. Not sure there is a fit, or how involved they were prior to regime change, but Dubas and Holmgren did chat."

Things have changes drastically in Philadelphia since the Flyers have fired general manager Ron Hextall on Monday, and a much more aggressive president Paul Holmgren has taken over. Pierre LeBrun also reported yesterday that the Leafs were making their final rounds with teams before making a final decision.

LeBrun's TSN colleague Bob McKenzie added that Toronto needs to make a last call on trade offers before they can go up to Nylander and make a last call of a contract offer. They can then decide if they sign or trade him, or even let him sit out the rest of the season. 

Nylander must sign a contract by Saturday at 5pm et in order to play in the NHL this season, leaving the team with two days to work out a deal.

Earlier this week, the Leafs informed rival clubs that they “will not take on salary that disrupts its future cap situation.” Dubas remains set on coming to terms with Nylander, though has admitted that he needs to start looking into the possibility of moving him to a rival team if an agreement cannot be reached between both parties. 

On Wednesday night, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman made headlines when he stated that he strongly believes this will be the last year we see Nylander as a Maple Leaf. Friedman was on the air with Tim and Sid earlier early on Wednesday and revealed how he thinks the Nylander situation will eventually end up becoming.

"The one thing I do believe, no matter what happens, is that this will be William Nylander's final season as a Maple Leaf. Whether he signs, or whether he doesn't sign, this is going to be it. Even if he does sign, I think Toronto trades him by the draft at the latest."