NHL Rumors: Latest on William Nylander, Cam Talbot and Jonathan Bernier

John Tavares may be dominating the NHL headlines and rumors, but there are several other notable names looking for new contracts before the free-agency chaos begins at noon Sunday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the lucky teams to meet with Tavares, and they also have one major fish to fry with William Nylander at the end of his entry-level deal.

Meanwhile, the NHL's goalie market is starting to take shape for this year and next, with Cam Talbot being a major player.

Will Toronto be able to work something out? Will Talbot and other goaltenders get the money they covet? The rumor mill is buzzing with possible leads.

Room for Nylander?

It was only a matter of time before the Maple Leafs would have to address the first hurdle of extensions for their "Big Three" of Mitchell Marner, Auston Matthews and Nylander.

Now there is a new twist to the situation, as Toronto is making a hard push to land Tavares.

The Maple Leafs are at least a possibility to get No. 91, as they are among his six finalists, per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet:

How will this affect the team's standing with its top restricted free agent, Nylander? Well, it seems the budding forward is at least making his desired contract terms known, per Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun.

"It's believed he'll seek something near the six-year deal with an AVV of $6.67 million that his off-ice friend David Pastrnak managed to sign in slightly longer service in Boston," Hornby wrote.

These demands seem fairly reasonable for a player of Nylander's caliber, as he recently turned 22 and already has 135 points in 185 career games. As a dynamic scorer with shifty hands, he is only sure to get even better and challenge to become a point-per-game player.

Pastrnak had 150 points in 172 games when he signed his deal last summer after concluding his third season in the NHL. He also played on the Boston Bruins' top line and in key defensive situations, so he may be worth slightly more than Nylander.

Regardless, though, Nylander is sure to get at least $6 million on his next deal.

Marner will get a comparable contract to Nylander, and Matthews could eclipse $8 million annually. Toronto has just over $24 million in cap space, but what would happen if they add in Tavares' deal, which will be worth at least $9 million?

The Maple Leafs will have Patrick Marleau's $6.25 million and Nathan Horton's $5.3 million annually off of the books in two seasons, but they will be hard-pressed to keep all four star forwards on the roster while fielding a competitive team around them in the meantime.

Essentially, Toronto is going to have to wait to see what happens with Tavares before making a decision on Nylander.

Should he go elsewhere, it should be manageable to pay Nylander what he deserves. Should Tavares want to join the Maple Leafs, a trade involving Nylander or Marner would be very much in play. Otherwise, the team would have to include prized youngsters such as Connor Brown and Timothy Liljegren to have a team take on Horton's contract.

While following the Tavares situation, be mindful of the impact on the rest of the roster. The joy of landing a generational free agent could be hampered by having to move a foundation piece, which could be Nylander.

Talbot Betting on Himself

So what type of goalie is Talbot?

He was one of the NHL's top netminders in his second season with the Edmonton Oilers, posting a 42-22-8 mark with a 2.39 goals against average and .919 save percentage as the team went to second round of the postseason.

His other two seasons with the Oilers have resulted in a 52-58-8 record with a 2.64 GAA and a .911 save percentage as his team missed the playoffs twice.

His overall individual numbers in Edmonton have been solid, but he struggled a bit this season, with a 3.02 GAA and .908 save percentage.

It is not yet known whether Talbot is the goalie of two seasons ago or closer to his overall Oilers numbers. As a result, it seems the two sides are taking a chance to find out as he enters the last year of his contract, per TSN's Ryan Rishaug:

Talbot, 30, is part of the line of recent backups to find starting jobs elsewhere, such as Scott Darling and Philipp Grubauer.

He signed a healthy three-year deal that pays $4.17 million, which looks to be a fair value for a goalie who has proved to be a solid starter. This is especially true given Grubauer just got a three-year contract paying $3.33 million a year, while Darling is making $4.15 million over the next three years; both had proved much more in the postseason than Talbot when he was with the New York Rangers.

If he can replicate his performance from two seasons ago, Talbot could be in line for a number similar to Frederik Andersen's $5 million. If he plays like he did last year, then he will be unlikely to get another contract like his current one, which is the greatest risk he has opted for.

The Oilers seemingly haven't offered any sort of raise, as the two sides have yet to agree on an extension, so it is smart for the team to stand pat and see whether Talbot is their goalie of the future.

Blackhawks Shoring Up

Speaking of backup goalies with high expectations, Jonathan Bernier was a major commodity coming up behind Jonathan Quick in the Los Angeles Kings organization. However, his career has not panned out the way many would have hoped.

In three seasons as Toronto's primary starter, Bernier never posted a GAA better than 2.70, and he has not had a full-time gig since with stops with the Anaheim Ducks and the Colorado Avalanche.

This is not to say he's been a bust, though, as his 2.68 GAA and .914 career save percentage are above average, and it helped prove Bernier to be a one of the top backup options in the NHL.

This has caught the attention of the Chicago Blackhawks, who are targeting Bernier to play behind Corey Crawford, per Scott Powers of The Athletic.

Powers also notes Carter Hutton and Cam Ward are under consideration.

This makes sense, as the Blackhawks learned the hard way last season what can happen without a capable backup.

After Crawford went down in December, the team tumbled down the standings while primary replacements Anton Forsberg, Jean-Francois Berube and Jeff Glass combined to post a 16-30-8 record along with a combined .902 save percentage.

That was a far cry from the previous two Chicago backups in Darling and Antti Raanta, who turned out to be revelations.

Bernier made $2.75 million last season, which is probably a tad above what the Blackhawks would prefer to pay.

Should the two sides come to terms around $2.5 million, Bernier would be an excellent fit on a two-year deal to help stabilize Chicago and help them return to the postseason while Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are still in their primes.

Statistics courtesy of Hockey Reference. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.