RUMOR: Three-way trade for William Nylander

With time running short for the Toronto Maple Leafs to sign restricted free agent William Nylander, it seems as general manager Kyle Dubas has had enough and is trying to trade Nylander to some teams and a three-way trade could be the most plausible thing to happen.

The Maple Leafs have until December 1st to sign Nylander and so far, it was reported that both teams were a half-million to a million dollars apart for the upcoming contract. The Leafs have three options open for them, one being meet his contract demands, trade him to a team willing to accept Nylander's demands or let the young winger wait it out and revisit negotiations this summer.

Earlier this week, Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reported that a 6-year, $6.9 million per season remained a possible solution for the organization. But on his latest 31 thoughts, Elliotte Friedman reported that both parties weren't that far apart, but it doesn't mean that a deal is written in stone.

I think that the two sides are around $300,000/year apart. The problem is Toronto and Nylander think they've significantly moved off their original positions, so they get to a point where they don't want to go further and dig in again. That might not sound like a lot, but Edmonton fans will remember Ryan Smyth was traded in 2007 when talks collapsed with both sides $100,000 apart, Friedman stated in his chronicle.

Friedman also mentioned that the Toronto franchise has informed rival clubs that they aren't willing to take on salary that disrupts its future cap situation. Before of that, Friedman believes a trade isn't a probable thing to happen.

Although a 3-way trade could happen due to salary cap constraints, Friedman on the other hand dismissed it automatically.

Toronto has told teams it will not take on salary that disrupts its future cap situation, making a trade unlikely - although some have tried. I've also searched for three-way possibilities, and am under the impression that's an unlikely path. Their preferred option is still to sign him.

With less than a week before the deadline, do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs will either trade, sign or wait it out until season ends to engage in contract talks again?

What will happen with Nylander?