With the NHL off-season ending soon enough, many unanswered questions remain surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs. The most notable of which include their free agents next year. And one of them is William Nylander. In a discussion with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek, Nylander mentioned that there is lots of time to get a contract done. Also, he stated that there is nowhere else he wants to be other than Toronto.
The most relaxed man in hockey. “Lots of time” to sort out his contract, says there’s nowhere else he wants to be than Toronto. Doesn’t see why everyone is spending so much time discussing it. pic.twitter.com/V7RBYNNwxM
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) August 23, 2023
William Nylander’s Future with Toronto Maple Leafs
William Nylander just had his first season where he eclipsed the 40-goal threshold and the point-per-game mark. He is due for a raise. How much of a raise is subject to debate. Even though fans have had contradictory discourses, Nylander has been a key piece for the Leafs for many years now. He seems to be the perfect type of player for the Toronto market, shrugging off any negative media attention he gets. If Nylander wants to stay in Toronto, it would be in the player’s and team’s best interest to get a deal done.
Nylanders Worth
It appears both sides want a long-term extension. The main difference in views seems to be the money on said long-term extension. The team can draw comparables for William Nylander with recent contracts like Sebastian Aho, Timo Meier and Alex DeBrincat. Aho’s deal would be at the high end of comparables and Meier and DeBrincat would be at the lower end. However, the most recent report of Nylander’s ask put him at $10,000,000 per season. This is where the ground needs to be made up. The talks may have progressed more since the report six weeks ago. However, if Nylander is confident that they’ll get a deal done, it is reasonable to believe a contract will get done between the two sides.
Only time will really tell what happens with the two sides. However, this is a promising indicator for Leaf fans.
