Yesterday, Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos reported that the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander were inching closer to an extension and noted that both sides would like to have the deal done prior to the NHL All-Star game at the beginning of February. Some were apprehensive to believe the reporting of Kypreos, but during the first intermission of the Leafs/Kings game, Kyper's report was confirmed by Elliotte Friedman, who went a step further in saying that he believes it could be done at some point this week.
At this point, the rumoured AAV is believed to be in the $11M-$11.25M range, but as we saw when reports were suggesting that Matthews could become the first $15M player in the league, Matthews ended up taking a discount, signing for $13.25M on a 4-year deal. Whether or not Nylander takes a similar approach remains to be seen, but we also know that both sides seem keen on an 8-year deal.
Amid the reports prior to the game, Nylander showed that he is not letting extension talks bother him as he scored the first and last goal of the game to give him 19 goals and 50 points in the season. The 27-year-old now sits fifth in the league points-wise and will have an opportunity to add to his numbers as the Leafs take on the Anaheim Ducks tonight.
Following last night's dominant 3-0 win, one reporter decided to ask Nylander about the reports of recent negotiations. Naturally, you can imagine what Nylander's response was.
I understand that reporters have to ask the questions to write the stories, but when Nylander addressed his contract during training camp he said he would not field questions during the season about it. He also made it very clear that he was only willing to negotiate in-season if things were kept quiet.
