NHL Insider scares Leafs fans with latest update on William Nylander

New Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving has his work cut out for him, to put it nicely. Not only is he being tasked with continuing the momentum that the Leafs built by finally winning their 1st postseason series since 2004, but also with trying to keep the "Core 4" in place. 

As you know, the "Core 4" consists of captain John Tavares along with forwards Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. And the contracts of Matthews and Nylander happen to be expiring exactly 367 days from now on July 1, 2024.

Treliving has already said that he intends on re-signing both Matthews and Nylander, and "the sooner, the better": 

"The sooner, the better, right? I mean, the idea is when you know where things are at, you plan better," Treliving said Tuesday. "When you know if it's going to be raining tomorrow, maybe you pack a jacket. So having clarity always helps. Is it the be-all, end-all? No, you've got two sides that are going to play a piece of this puzzle. So we certainly would like (clarity); we're certainly trying to work toward that."

"(On) July 1, the world doesn't stop. I feel very confident ... we're going to get both players signed until proven otherwise and, hopefully, it's July," Treliving continued. "If it's not, then we'll keep working away at it."

But if this update from TSN's Pierre LeBrun holds any weight, the negotiations between the Leafs and Nylander's agent Lewis Gross have not exactly been able to produce anything of note. And in LeBrun's mind, the Swedish forward "will not be back" if things don't pick up soon. 

"That's the wild card one. Everyone keeps insisting that the Core 4 will be back, but I'll tell you now - William Nylander will not be back if this contract negotiation doesn't go smoothly. That's just the reality of it. That's the player that could move if there isn't an extension that makes sense for both sides."

Leafs fans, will Nylander's camp be able to agree on a new contract before he's up for grabs next summer?