Brad Treliving provides concerning update on William Nylander.

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be walking down a similar path to the one they chose to walk with Auston Matthews this season, but whether or not that will work out a second time remains to be seen.

Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving recently spoke to National Hockey League insider Pierre LeBrun this week and during their conversation the topic of William Nylander's looming contract extension was broached. LeBrun indicated that it was his feeling that the Maple Leafs would be willing to let Nylander play out the season on an expiring deal, much like Matthews did last season.

From LeBrun:

So if I were to read between the lines here, I don’t think the trade deadline in March will be much of a factor as long as the Leafs are contenders again. They seem willing to go all the way to next summer to get Nylander’s contract done.

Treliving did make it clear that he wants Nylander to remain a Maple Leaf and there is a sense that the general manager made a push to get the deal done prior to the start of training camps on September 21st, but so far no deal has materialized. When asked to comment on this development, Treliving avoided sharing any specific details.

“I’m not going to get into the play-by-play of it other than to say he’s a very good player and you always want to keep the good players,” Treliving said as per LeBrun. “And he’s told me he wants to be in Toronto. That’s the most important thing. If there’s a desire on both sides, then you should be able to come to an agreement."

Treliving also stressed that these types of negotiations take time, something that Maple Leafs fans know all too well given that they just went through the same situation with Auston Matthews. Matthews' expiring contract gave him an incredible amount of leverage this summer however and the Maple Leafs now risk putting themselves in a similar situation with Nylander, who admittedly sounds like he would also like to remain a Maple Leaf.

"We’re open to trying to get a deal done, as well," confirmed Lewis Gross, Nylander's agent.

Whether or not this will prove to be a winning strategy for Trevling for a second time in a row remains to be seen.