The Toronto Maple Leafs are currently trying to figure out their goaltending situation after having sent Ilya Samsonov to the AHL to help him "reset" again. Over the past few days, discussions in the media have revolved around Samsonov and how the goaltending situation pans out, but with all the attention directed there, one analyst is reporting there could be some huge news coming from the Leafs very soon relating to one of the team's stars.
According to Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne, the Leafs and forward William Nylander are close on a contract extension. Nylander's agent Lewis Gross and the Leafs had been working away behind the scenes, as Nylander directed them to, and things appear to be coming to a resolution.
Kypreos and Justin Bourne went on to say that his numbers are comparable to David Pastrnak who is currently on a deal that pays him $11.25M and additionally noted that it will likely be a front-loaded deal which would make the last few years easier for the Leafs to move. Kypreos believes that $11.25M, when the cap reaches $100M or so, will not be an outrageous salary for a 40-goal scorer and that there can't really be an argument made for this being a crazy deal.
Is it a significant raise for Nylander? Absolutely. However, the Leafs will have John Tavares' contract coming off of the books after next season and while they will have to re-sign Mitch Marner to another hefty contract, the cap rising and the space created by Tavares' deal should be more than enough to cover the raise for Nylander. Yes, Tavares will likely command $4M to $6M on a new deal, but the Leafs should have plenty of room to tweak the roster around them, something that AGM Brandon Pridham can do with his eyes closed at this point. With the reported deadline being just a month away, it will intriguing to see how fast the Leafs and Nylander put pen to paper and get this deal done.
