With day two of Leafs training camp underway, the Swedish forward is yet to sign a new contract, and the status of negotiations between him and the club is largely up in the air. Dubas, however, shed a bit of light on the situation Saturday, saying that Nylander's new deal will certainly be within the confines of the Leafs' salary cap restrictions.
"If we want to sustain success here we can't be setting any marketplace records," Dubas said, according to Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star.
"Sometimes players might not like it very much, but I'm sure they'd rather win than be on a team that can't."
Shortly after signing free agent John Tavares to a seven-year, $77 million deal, Dubas was asked how he plans to manage the next contracts of Toronto's group of young stars. He responded by saying "we can, and we will" retain Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews long-term.
Both men signed big-money extensions in September 2017, with the former agreeing to a seven-year, $42-million deal, and the latter inking a six-year, $40-million pact.
The Maple Leafs have an estimated $13.3 million in available cap space for 2018-19, according to Cap Friendly.
With the NHL preseason kicking off in China on Saturday, commissioner Gary Bettman believes regular-season games in the Pacific are the next logical step.
Gary Bettman said he envisions the NHL eventually playing regular season games in China, that that would be the next step. They are in discussions about coming back next year to play preseason games. There are a number of teams interested in coming, he said.
The Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames are set to participate in two exhibition contests overseas with an eye toward growing the popularity of the game in the Chinese market. Last season, the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings were chosen to do the same as the debut participants of the multi-year deal signed by the NHL in 2017.
Regular-season games outside North America have occurred in the past, though never in China. This season, the NHL Global Series features an Edmonton Oilers-New Jersey Devils game in Sweden in October, and two games between the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers in Finland in early November.
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan told Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press on Friday that the NHL put the club through a thorough questioning process and determined no rules were violated.
Bill Daly, the league's deputy commissioner, confirmed MacLellan's assessment that the Capitals did nothing wrong by including Orpik in the trade that sent goaltender Philipp Grubauer to the Colorado Avalanche, then re-signing the veteran defenseman at a lower cap hit after the Avalanche bought him out.
Orpik's original cap hit was $5.5 million, with a base salary of $4.5 million, in what was to be the final year of the five-year, $27.5-million contract he signed with Washington on July 1, 2014.
The Avalanche bought out that final year after acquiring him in the Grubauer deal at the draft, and the Capitals re-signed him in late July on a one-year pact worth $1 million, plus up to $500,000 in bonuses ($250,000 for 20 games played and another $250,000 if he appears in 40 contests, according to CapFriendly).
Orpik is owed $1.5 million in each of the next two seasons as a result of the buyout.
Without a deal in place, the 23-year-old hasn't yet reported to the club's training camp.
Theodore joined the Golden Knights via the expansion draft from the Anaheim Ducks, and emerged as an important piece of the blue line while the team marched to a Western Conference title.
In 61 games last season, Theodore chipped in 29 points and averaged more than 20 minutes per night. He's expected to be a key member of the defense once again, especially with Nate Schmidt facing a 20-game suspension for performance-enhancing drug use.
Theodore is the lone player on Vegas' ledger who's currently without a contract, and the club has roughly $9.4 million in available cap space to work with, per Cap Friendly.
The Bolts placed the defenseman on waivers Thursday to terminate his contract, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. The team is calling it a "material breach of contract," Friedman adds.
In 83 career games with the Lightning, Dotchin picked up just three goals and 22 points. It may not take him long to find a new home because of his age (24), size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), and right-handedness.
Thursday's blockbuster trade to acquire Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators wasn't the first time San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson has fleeced one of his counterparts. In fact, it's not even the first time this offseason he's schooled Sens GM Pierre Dorion.
The Karlsson deal will be Wilson's best transaction if the five-time All-Star gets the Sharks over the hump and they win the Stanley Cup. Here are five other moves (listed in chronological order) Wilson has made to help turn the Sharks into a juggernaut:
Drafting Joe Pavelski
Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Wilson took over as Sharks GM in May 2003, and about a month later made arguably the franchise's best draft pick, selecting Joe Pavelski in the seventh round (205th overall).
Pavelski has been one of the NHL's most underrated players since entering the league in 2006-07. On a per 82-game basis, he's averaging 30 goals and 64 points per season, and the 34-year-old has also been reliable on both the power play and penalty kill, with the versatility to play either center or wing.
During the Wilson era, the Sharks have missed the postseason just once. They've traded many first-round picks, but have still managed to draft and develop homegrown talent on a level nearly any team in the league would envy.
The Joe Thornton robbery
Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Joe Thornton is in the twilight of his career now, so it might be easy to forget that he was the centerpiece of a historically lopsided trade.
On Nov. 30, 2005, Wilson acquired the then 26-year-old Thornton from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau. That's it.
Thornton went on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy that season, and he sits second in franchise history with 973 points in 961 games, trailing only Patrick Marleau.
The Brent Burns thievery
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty
At the 2011 draft, Wilson pulled off another blockbuster, trading Charlie Coyle, Devin Setoguchi, and a first-round pick (28th overall, Zack Phillips) to the Minnesota Wild for Brent Burns and a second-round pick.
Burns, who was 26 years old at the time, was a good player, but not a great one yet. After rotating between forward and defense during his first few seasons in the Bay Area, he was permanently moved to defense for the 2014-15 season, and a star emerged. Over the last four seasons, he's averaged 21 goals and 70 points, taking home the Norris Trophy in 2016-17.
Meanwhile, Setoguchi didn't reach 20 goals or 40 points again, Coyle still hasn't established himself as a top-six forward, and Phillips never played in the NHL.
Dealing a prospect and a first-rounder for a 25-year-old goaltender with only 29 NHL starts under his belt was a risky move. But it's become one of Wilson's savviest trades, as Jones has proven to be a capable No. 1 goalie and a clutch performer.
Here's a look at his career playoff numbers:
GP
W-L
GAA
SV%
SO
42
22-18
2.07
.926
6
Frederic is a good-looking prospect, and Kuraly is a solid depth player. But the Sharks definitely wouldn't have gone to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final without Jones in the crease.
Buying low on Evander Kane
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Time will tell if this move turns out to truly be one of Wilson's best, but so far, so good.
At the 2018 trade deadline, Wilson sent prospect Danny O'Regan, a second-round pick, and a conditional fourth-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Evander Kane (the second-round pick turned into a first once Kane signed an extension).
Since being selected fourth overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, Kane has shown flashes of brilliance and the ability to become a premier power forward. But a combination of injuries, some off-ice incidents, and playing for poor teams have prevented him from reaching his full potential.
In 17 games with San Jose following the deadline, Kane scored nine goals, then added four more in nine postseason contests. A full season in a winning environment, surrounded by some of the best linemates of his career, could result in a 40-plus-goal campaign if he stays healthy.
Acquiring a talented player at a bargain price has worked out for Wilson in the past. Kane and Karlsson are just the most recent examples.
Honorable mentions: Acquiring Dan Boyle from Tampa Bay, Dany Heatley from Ottawa.
Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford revealed to reporters Friday that he's been sidelined by a concussion he suffered last year. He also said he believes he's close to a full recovery as the team begins its training camp.
Crawford's final game of the 2017-18 season came on Dec. 23. He was initially ruled out with vertigo-like symptoms without a clear timeline on a potential return.
Corey Crawford said he suffered the concussion before his last game on Dec. 23. "It was something before that and things just kept getting progressively worse. It just got to a point where it was time to sit out, and things never really got better."
The 33-year-old was on the ice with the Blackhawks' goalie coach prior to practice Friday, but Crawford reaffirmed he's not 100 percent yet.
"It's hard to say right now, but things have been progressing really well," Crawford told ChicagoBlackhawks.com's Chris Wescott. "It's really hard to put a timeline on it right now. It's nice to be on the ice and it feels like I didn't miss that much time, compared to being out this long. I was moving pretty good."
Crawford was outstanding when healthy last season, managing a .929 save percentage across 27 starts.
