Five trade destinations for Nylander!

The deadline is three weeks away. NHL insider Darren Dreger remains unconvinced Toronto Maple Leafs free agent William Nylander will be moved, however, he is aware of the growing trade interest in the talented forward. Both Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas and Nylander's camps have remained quiet on the contract impasse, however, Dreger still believes there is progress in talks between the two sides and said he would be shocked if Nylander doesn’t re-sign with Toronto. 

His gut feeling did not stop Rory Boylen of Sportsnet to list five trade destinations for Nylander as the deadline fast approaches. He lists the Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild, and Anaheim Ducks as potential trade destinations for Nylander if the Leafs decide to trade him.

In Carolina, the Leafs could target the very much talked about defenseman Brett Pesce, but also Justin Faulk, and Valentin Zykov. For a while now, the trade chatter has been spinning around two blue liners in Los Angeles in Jake Muzzin and Alec Martinez, however, Boylen believes the Leafs could also be tempted by prospects Kale Clague and Rasmus Kupari. 

If the Flyers are looking to make a move with Toronto again, it is easy to see the Leafs having tons of interest in Shayne Gostisbehere, Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers and Robert Hagg. However, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall has always been careful with his transactions, and could decide to forget about getting into a complicated situation with Nylander. 

The Wild has been mentioned a few times now in the trade rumours surrounding Nylander and could pony up Jonas Brodin, Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba. 

The Leafs and the Ducks have been good trade partners in the past and could agree to make a splash now again as Anaheim could tempt Toronto with Brandon Montour, Josh Manson and prospects Josh Mahura, Troy Terry, and Max Jones.

Now, we have to keep in mind that Boylen is merely listing possible trade options and he is not saying the Leafs will want every player listed on each club in return for Nylander. It has been mentioned several times by insiders and pundits that Dubas would prefer to land  a top-four defenseman if he puts Nylander on the trade block. However, NHL insider and Boylen's colleague Elliotte Friedman recently suggested Dubas could surprise the fan base by bringing in a forward to replace Nylander.

In terms of defensive depth, the Hurricanes and the Ducks have the most in skilled young defensemen to tempt the Leafs. For several weeks now, Carolina has been mentioned in almost every single trade rumor headline when it comes to Nylander, while the Ducks have yet to make their interest widely known and public to the fans across the National Hockey League. 

As for the Kings, who could definitely use a major help scoring, many doubt that Martinez or Muzzin would be enough for Dubas to part with Nylander. The Wild could have a better chance, however, Dubas would most likely zero in on Dubas, and GM Paul Fenton might not be willing to let him go. 

One thing is sure: we will find out soon enough. The clock is ticking and the deadline is only weeks away...