The biggest issue with the Leafs actually paying William Nylander his $10M has nothing to do with the money
The lack of traction in contract extension negotiations between the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander have received a great deal of air time so far this summer. Per the most recent reports, the Leafs are holding firm at a number that starts with an 8, while Nylander and his camp believe that he's worth every penny of $10M, maybe more.
When you look at Nylander's numbers from last season, he was above a point per game and he also scored 40 goals. Those types of players don't exactly grow on trees. Nylander has all the skill in the world, but there are parts of his game that are lacking, like the level of physicality and a commitment to backchecking and playing on the defensive side of the puck.
I understand the argument that he's worth $10M in Toronto, simply because he produced very similar numbers to Auston Matthews last season and that the gap between Nylander and Marner isn't large enough to warrant current salary gap of having him make $4M less. However, the best reason not to pay Nylander actually has nothing to do with money, believe it or not.
The Leafs have had 7 cracks at the playoffs in the Marner/Matthews/Nylander era and 5 cracks at the playoffs in the John Tavares era. What do they have to show for it? One single playoff series win. One. There's something about this core that just doesn't work the way we all want it to when the games get tougher in the playoffs.
Paying William Nylander $10M isn't going to magically turn this core into a winning core. The same can be said about hefty pay increases for Matthews and Marner, but at least they have the luxury of being considered elite players at their position.
The fact of the matter is that if you're looking at the big picture, paying Nylander more money won't equate to any more playoff success. Instead, it will be taking money away from being able to shore up other areas of the roster. Yes, the cap is expected to go up. Yes, John Tavares is on a contract that will expire 2 summers from now. But if the goal is to compete for a Stanley Cup every year, I'm not sure shelling out a larger salary to Nylander, who doesn't commit to a 200-foot game and who isn't exactly a physical presence out there in the playoffs, will help the Leafs take the next step in their pursuit of glory. Just my two cents.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 7 | 729 ANSWERS The biggest issue with the Leafs actually paying William Nylander his $10M has nothing to do with the money Do you believe the Leafs can win a Stanley Cup if they're paying Nylander $10M or more per season? | ||
| Yes | 99 | 13.6 % |
| No | 630 | 86.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
