Insider drops major information regarding a William Nylander contract extension
PUBLICATION
Ryan Hall
December 29, 2023 (9:54)
Photo credit: NHL
For the past couple of days, there has been an unconfirmed rumour circulating that the Leafs may be looking at trading pending free agent William Nylander to a Western Conference team. The rumour, which originated from HockeyBuzz and the controversial "Eklund", links Nylander to the Anaheim Ducks, who have an abundance of cap space to spend this summer.
I'm not here to give any fuel to that rumour, but to play devil's advocate, if the Leafs were to consider trading the superstar winger, it would make sense to trade him to the Western Conference. However, it appears that other NHL pundits and insiders have a different take on the Nylander situation.
The common narrative coming from the Leafs and the Nylander camp is that both sides feel a mutual desire to find a deal that would work best for both, which would keep Nylander in Toronto for a very long time. Nylander has expressed a consistent desire to stay with the Maple Leafs as he enjoys the city, the fan base and the organization.
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General Manager Brad Treliving has also expressed his desire to sign Nylander to a long-term deal as he feels Nylander is an excellent player who gives the Leafs a chance to win.
During an interview on NHL Tonight on Thursday, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period feels that both sides are preparing to ramp up efforts to strike a deal and that deal could come as early as January.
"There has been an open dialogue between the Leafs and [Nylander's] camp, but at no point has anything been derailed. They've also been keeping things very, very close to the vest. They're going to escalate conversations and talks into the New Year. Once the calendar flips over in a few days to 2024, negotiations, from what I've been told, between the Leafs and Willie's camp are going to start to pick up a little bit.
"Both sides want a long-term deal, you're probably looking at an eight-year extension. It is just a matter of the Leafs being comfortable with a $10 million-plus player, another one, on the roster." - Pagnotta on Nylander and the Leafs
Now that the NHL has announced the salary cap will be rising over $4 million per season starting next year, it certainly makes it easier for both sides to find the right number.
Earlier in the summer, the going number for Nylander was around $10 million per season. The Leafs felt that something closer to $9M was their number of choice. With the Leafs holding over $33 million cap space going into next season, it is possible to fit a in Nylander deal around the $10 million mark, perhaps slightly higher.
There's also a strong sense that after the John Tavares contract is done, the team will have more money to work with along with.
With so much speculation running rampant during the season on what will happen with Nylander and the Maple Leafs, it's clear Nylander has tuned out all the noise and continues to show the value he gives to the organization and the fan base with his tremendous performance this season.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL |
29 DECEMBRE | 812 ANSWERS Insider drops major information regarding a William Nylander contract extension What will Nylander's final number be on his next deal? |
| More than $11M | 131 | 16.1 % |
| $10.5M-$11M | 383 | 47.2 % |
| $10M-$11.49M | 213 | 26.2 % |
| Less than $10M | 85 | 10.5 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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