Popular podcast host goes on an amazing rant about why the Leafs need to pay Nylander now
William Nylander, like Auston Matthews, is off to a hot start to begin the season. Unlike Matthews however, Nylander did not agree to terms on a new extension before the season started and although he has told his agent to negotiate during the season, an extension is unlikely to happen if the Leafs and Brad Treliving don't budge on their stance of offering Nylander less than the $10M he'd very likely get on the open market.
On Monday's edition of the JD Bunkis Podcast, Bunkis went on a beautiful rant about why the Leafs should simply pay Nylander what he is asking or at least close to what he is asking to avoid losing him for nothing next summer.
Here's the thing, Treliving - you're not going to be able to change the culture with Nylander. This isn't going to change anymore. I think what you need to accept with the Leafs, this group of Leafs are always going to care about living in the city and playing for the Maple Leafs and getting big ole' bags of money. I think the way you look at this is this isn't going to extend down to the Fraser Minten's and Matthew Knies' of the world. This isn't even going to extend to Tavares' next contract. That is part of these three guys and their legacy in the city. Those three guys are Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander. So just give those guys the money and accept that this group is that. That there is no culture change coming. It's time to accept the reality that Nylander has turned himself into a bona-fide stud. You're going to have your moments of inconsistency, but what player can you not say that about? Sidney Crosby? How many guys can you say show up for every single game?" - Bunkis on the Nylander/Leafs stalemate
For the most part, Bunkis is right in that the culture change will have to happen with guys like Minten and Knies - the next generation of players. However, to play devil's advocate, what's to say that Minten and Knies aren't learning from Matthews, Nylander and Marner on how to ensure they set themselves up for the biggest possible paydays each time they need a new deal?
The one factor here that shouldn't be overlooked is that Kyle Dubas was the one responsible for handing out the last deals for Matthews, Marner and Nylander. None of these 3 were going to accept a lower salary than what they're making now under Treliving. Matthews did, however, settle for only a modest increase on his next deal under Treliving. So too will Marner, who won't earn a whole lot more than his current $10.9M salary and certainly not more than Matthews' $13.25M.
Matthews' increase was under $2M. If we put Marner's at, say, $1.8M, that will bump him to $12.7M. The issue here is that Nylander's $6.96M was already significantly lower than Matthews and Marner, but his performance and production isn't that far below, so at some point, the Leafs will either have to make him whole or risk losing him. Even at a $2M increase, Nylander won't even crack the $9M threshold, so why not just offer him the $3M increase he's looking for and look to make that $1M back on Tavares' next deal? We know that Tavares wants to remain in Toronto and retire a Leaf, so how bad does he want to do that? If his original ask was going to be somewhere in the $7M-$8M range, would he accept $6M to stay? $5.5M?
For the Leafs and Nylander to come to terms, there will have to be some give and take, but the Leafs should not expect Nylander to take significantly less than $10M per season, especially if he's willing to sign an 8-year extension and remain a Leaf through the rest of his prime years.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 17 | 122 ANSWERS Popular podcast host goes on an amazing rant about why the Leafs need to pay Nylander now Should the Leafs just pony up and pay Nylander his $10M now after his hot start? | ||
| Absolutely | 49 | 40.2 % |
| No, Treliving can't give in now | 18 | 14.8 % |
| There's plenty of time to find middle ground | 55 | 45.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
