Kucherov says he'd do same thing as Nylander if faced with contract dispute again

William Nylander can count Tampa Bay Lightning superstar Nikita Kucherov as a supporter amid his contract impasse with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Kucherov faced a similar situation to Nylander's prior to the 2016-17 campaign, as he was a restricted free agent coming off his entry-level deal, missing training camp as well as the entire preseason before agreeing on a three-year bridge contract worth $4.76 million per year.

Nylander has missed 21 games amid his standoff with the first-place Maple Leafs and needs to come to an agreement with the club by Dec. 1 in order to play this season.

The entire saga has been one of the league's most persistent storylines since it began, but if Kucherov was faced with the same situation today as he endured two years ago, he could see himself in the same boat as Nylander.

"I would have done the same thing," Kucherov told Joe Smith of The Athletic. "I don't know what's happening right now there (in Toronto), but to have a guy like him on any team, every team wants him.

"He's still going to be a great player; great playmaker; great goalscorer. Everybody has their opinion on him, but as soon as he gets to play, he's going to prove to everyone - they'll just be talking about hockey. If he thinks he's right, good for him."

Both the Maple Leafs and Nylander's camp have expressed their desire to come to terms on a long-term deal, but with less than two weeks remaining until the deadline, there's no clear indication as to how the impasse will end.