Longtime Maple Leafs Defenseman in Serious Contract Dispute With His New Team

The longtime former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins is in a serious contract dispute with his new team, the Buffalo Sabres.

Nobody appears happy to stay with the Buffalo Sabres organization. Most of the talented players on the team were included in trade or free agency rumors, and now, Timmins doesn't appear too excited to sign with the team.

Indeed, the Restricted Free Agent, who was traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Sabres earlier this offseason for Connor Clifton and a second-round pick, isn't close to reaching a deal in Buffalo.

With arbitration hearings set to take place over the coming days, Timmins and the Sabres are likely to meet for that reason soon. Unless a deal is reached before then, the hearing will take place on August 2nd.

The Ontario native is coming off a rocky season, where he played 51 games for the Leafs and 17 more in Pittsburgh after being traded.

In those 68 games, the 26-year-old defenseman tallied 15 points, including three goals.

After seeing three players around the NHL reach deals before their hearing date, some fans hoped to see the Sabres and Timmins sign a contract soon, but multiple reports confirmed that there hasn't been any 'traction' between both camps.

As of now, five more players are scheduled to have salary hearings. Here's the full list, per PuckPedia:

Arvid Soderblom (Chicago Blackhawks) - July 28
Maksim Tsyplakov (New York Islanders) - July 29
Dylan Samberg (Winnipeg Jets) - July 30
Conor Timmins (Buffalo Sabres) - August 2
Nicholas Robertson (Toronto Maple Leafs) - August 3
Jayden Struble (Montreal Canadiens) - August 3

It'll be interesting to see what kind of contract Timmins would get in a hearing, or if a deal will be reached before the date.

With the Sabres' reputation, it's not surprising to see that he appears reluctant to sign in Buffalo.

Hopefully for their fans, massive changes will be done to the team to make sure they can attract top talent and convince them to stay with the team.