Insider reveals something very interesting about the Nylander and Matthews negotiations

"Auston Matthews is the most important decision because he's the most important player on the team, but, to me, there's no doubt that he's coming back... with William Nylander, it's more of a question, right? Because if you can't sign him to a deal that the team feels they can accommodate, then they might have to look at trading him. I don't see it going that way with Matthews.

If you're William Nylander and you're coming off of an 87-point season, you're probably looking for an extension that starts with a 9. I'm not saying $9M on the button gets it done - maybe it's $9.5M or $9.75M. I think that that's probably the range [Nylander] is going to push for.

I'd imagine the Leafs are willing to give him a raise on where he's been, but they're going to likely want that number to start with an 8 and so that actually might be the negotiations that ends up happening or playing out before the Matthews one does, because I do think the Leafs need some clarity quicker with Nylander - like is he here or not? I think there's a mutual confidence that the Matthews thing will get done in time and that it might just need some time. Like maybe you get through the rush of free agency, everyone takes a breath and you revisit it later in the summer and figure what goes on there.

Will [the Leafs] be getting an 8-year deal for William Nylander? Can they keep him under $9M if it gets to 8 years? And, so I think that that's a big decision." - Johnston on the Leafs perhaps pushing to get the Nylander deal done before the Matthews deal