ST. PAUL, Minn. -- William Nylander remained an unsigned free agent through much of Saturday, so Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Mitchell Marner did what everyone else did looking for some contract news: He turned to his phone.
"A couple guys came early and we were kind of all sitting here, [Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock] popped out of the office and said, 'We signed him,'" Marner said. "Of course everyone nowadays just goes right to a phone, so about 20 of us go over, grab our phones. The next thing you know, you see the signing.
"We're all really excited about it. We can't wait to get him back in Toronto."
Nylander agreed to terms on a six-year contract with Toronto on Saturday minutes before the 5 p.m. ET deadline. It has an average annual value of $6.9 million.
The 22-year-old forward was a restricted free agent and would not have been eligible to play in the NHL this season if he did not sign before the deadline.
He has missed 27 games, including a 5-3 win against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.
"You guys (the media) got one day and then you've got to find something else to talk about," Toronto forward Auston Matthews said.
Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas said Nylander will have medical testing and evaluations before rejoining the lineup, which Babcock said could happen this week. Toronto next plays at the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday and hosts the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Nylander has scored at least 20 goals in each of his two full NHL seasons and had a second straight 61-point season last season (20 goals, 41 assists). He was third on the Maple Leafs behind Marner (69) and Matthews (63).
"We hope to get him here as soon as possible. He's a big part of this team," Matthews said. "Hopefully he gets us on a run here, gets in a couple practices. It's the same thing coming back from injury; you need a couple games to kind of get going, but I'm sure he's been skating quite a bit and he's excited to get back with his teammates and start playing some hockey games."
The Maple Leafs have won four straight and are 11-3-0 in their past 14 games. Toronto is second in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"Having him back, it's just going to add more fire to this team and make us deeper," Marner said. "It's exciting. I can't wait to have him back. He's a great player, so we're excited about it."
Nylander was selected by Toronto No. 8 in the 2014 NHL Draft. He has 135 points (48 goals, 87 assists) in 185 NHL games and eight points (two goals, six assists) in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
"I thought obviously it was good news for our hockey club here today," Babcock said. "[Kyle] and the guys did a real good job of getting that done. … William was ecstatic. Obviously he wants to be back here and we want him back here. It'll take us four or five days to get him into the lineup, but then as soon as we can we'll get him in."
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