Brad Treliving appears to take a subtle shot at William Nylander during recent press conference

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Josh Tupper
August 27, 2023 (8:51)

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Last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they'd signed franchise cornerstone Auston Matthews to a 4 year extension. The deal doesn't begin until next season, when the salary cap is expected to rise significantly. After the signing Leafs General Manager, Brad Treliving made it a priority to sign Matthews as soon as possible, but admitted it wouldn't have happened if Matthews hadn't pushed to get it done.

According to Luke Fox of Sportsnet, who sat down with Brad Treliving, the reason the contract was signed before the upcoming season was because this is what Matthews wanted; take a look.

This got done because Auston decided he wanted to get it done.

While this comment might just seem like a compliment to Matthews many fans have felt it runs deeper. Treliving's comments show that the Leafs and Matthews were on the same page in wanting a deal signed before next season.

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On the other side of this comment sits William Nylander. Nylander has made it clear he's in absolutely no rush to sign a new deal. In fact Nylander has mentioned he has another year on his deal and doesn't understand why anyone is in a hurry to sign a deal.

Many fans felt that Treliving's comments were actually a message to both Nylander and his agent Lewis Gross. The new narrative in Toronto might just be that one star player sees the importance of not wanting any in-season distractions, while the other is just trying to extract maximum value.

Brad Treliving has already put his stamp on this Leafs' team, but it looks like he's far from done in trying to change the culture in Toronto.

Previously on HockeyUnplugged

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POLL
27 AOUT \| 139 ANSWERS Brad Treliving appears to take a subtle shot at William Nylander during recent press conference Do you think Nylander waiting to sign a contract will be a distraction to the team?
Yes	65	46.8 %
No	35	25.2 %
Negotiating in season always is	39	28.1 %
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