William Nylander Agrees To Eight Year Extension In Toronto
William Nylander is putting any chance of free agency to bed. In the middle of a career year, the Toronto Maple Leafs winger is agreeing to an eight year extension. It will total $92 million and include a full no-movement clause, per Elliotte Friedman:
Hearing Toronto and William Nylander closing 8x$11.5M extension. Full NMC all the way through.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 8, 2024
Nylander has the reputation of a great player but in 2023-2024 he is taking it to the next level. He is following up an 87-point season last year with 54 points in 37 games currently. That total has him tied for fifth in scoring in the NHL and barring injury, should be well on his way to a 120-point season. Even more impressive is that the scoring comes with him primarily on the Leafs’ second line with John Tavares and Tyler Bertuzzi. Some may argue that powerplay points inflate it, but he only has 13 at the moment. The 27-year-old has transformed himself into a bonafide elite player who is undoubtedly part of the Leafs core.
Money Talks?
With the $11.5 million cap hit kicking in next season, the Leafs will now have over 50% of their total cap invested into four players. If you include Morgan Rielly‘s $7.5 million per season, it would be over 60% of an $88.7 million salary cap. Something that helps, however, is that both Tavares and Mitch Marner have contracts that expire in 2025. Marner is in his prime and will command a similar deal to Nylander, but Tavares will more than likely take a hometown discount as Leafs captain.
Regardless next season will feature some serious cap gymnastics. Toronto needs answers in terms of depth and in goal. The Ilya Samsonov experience has gone terribly. Yes there’s some interesting prospects in the farm, but this team is in Cup-or-bust territory. Brad Treliving will have his hands full when it comes to filling out this roster. However, that’s a problem for next year. The Leafs are very much in the mix right now and everyone will focus even more on the ultimate goal.
William Nylander is going to be a career Maple Leaf and he deserves every penny of that $92 million. There is no way Toronto is done making moves between now and the trade deadline.
