A dozen NHL executives reveal what they think William Nylander is worth
Maple Leafs forward William Nylander is off to a torrid start this season with 27 points in 17 games which has led to many people asking the question, "has his value on his next contract priced him out of Toronto?" Obviously, the answer is not so simple, but when it comes to negotiating a contract, there are no simple answers.
Prior to the season, the Leafs and Nylander were reportedly far apart on the value of what his extension should look like. The Leafs were comfortable in the range of $8M to $9M while Nylander was supposedly asking for somewhere around $10M per season. With how he has started the season, GM Brad Treliving is probably kicking himself for not agreeing to something closer to Nylander's ask earlier. Both sides have committed to negotiating during the season, but with each passing game, it is likely that they continue to be far apart on an annual salary.
The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun recently asked 12 front-office executives from various teams what they would sign Nylander for. The majority were within the same ballpark while there were a couple of outliers on both the high side and low side of the numbers that have been previously reported.
"This is a very similar situation to Boston with (David) Pastrnak. Pastrnak signed in March (eight years, $11.25 million) of a season he finished with 61 goals and 113 points. So to me, the fair number would be eight years north of $11 million. I know Matthews is at $13.25 million, but only four-year term. If Nylander goes eight years at $11.5 million, that's $92 million guaranteed dollars where he would have to get over $13 million externally on a 7-year deal to match that money, which is hard to do," said one executive.
Another executive believes that Nylander will come in much lower than Pastrnak saying, "He will be 28, has never hit 90 points (although certainly seems he will this season) and has never been past the second round of the playoffs, and only there once. But our system pays on points � rightly or wrongly � and he will have a strong case. Does he help Toronto win more than Matthew Tkachuk at $9.5 million? Probably not. But the cap is going up and Toronto pays a tax premium. $10 million (average annual value), full term. Probably gets more but fair is arbitrary."
The vast majority of executives that LeBrun talked to believe Nylander's next deal will fall between $10.5 and $11M per season. However, one executive was on the Leafs' side of things saying Nylander should get between $8.5M and $9M per season. There was also one executive who seems to be overvaluing Nylander saying he should get between $12M and $12.5M per season.
While the executives may have a difference of opinion on what Nylander should get per season, they all came to a consensus that he will likely sign a maximum length contract of eight years. With that being said, it sounds like Brad Treliving will have his work cut out for him finding the cap space for next season to keep Nylander around at $10M+ given that they will have John Tavares on the books for another year at $11M and also have to plan for a Mitch Marner extension that will likely exceed the $12M plateau.
The good news is that the two sides are negotiating during the season and Nylander has stated multiple times that he wants to remain a Leaf. Hopefully, the two sides will be able to find common ground sooner than later.
| POLL | ||
NOVEMBRE 21 | 418 ANSWERS A dozen NHL executives reveal what they think William Nylander is worth What would you be comfortable with the Leafs signing Nylander for? | ||
| $9M or less per season. Full stop. | 46 | 11 % |
| $9M to $10M per season | 160 | 38.3 % |
| $10M to $11M per season | 169 | 40.4 % |
| $11M+ per season | 43 | 10.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
