Nylander’s bet paying off as contract talks with Maple Leafs heat up

William Nylander keeps reminding the Toronto Maple Leafs how important he is to the team’s success.

This should make his reportedly imminent whopper of a contract extension a little more digestible for the executives cutting those eight-figure cheques and a diehard fan base who studies salary-cap charts closer than box scores.

A few hours prior to Nylander’s two-goal, six-shot performance Tuesday in the Maple Leafs’ clean 3-0 road win over the Los Angeles Kings, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported that 2024’s most coveted impending unrestricted free agent had been engaged in positive negotiations with GM Brad Treliving.

In the works is the blueprint for an eight-year deal that would net the stud winger approximately $11.25 million annually and about $90 million in total – the same AAV that Nylander’s friend, winger David Pastrnak, netted from Boston early in 2023 before his own bargain deal expired.

Elliotte Friedman added that the paperwork on a Nylander extension could be completed as early as this week, and that the team would prefer to take care of its top business priority before hosting the All-Star Game in February.

When informed of the report postgame and asked how negotiations were coming along, a shirtless Nylander smiled and chuckled: “Like I said, I’m not going to answer any questions on that.”

Both sides have always desired a recommitment. 

Negotiations have centred around offering Nylander a number that works for him and agent Lewis Gross. If that figure indeed begins with an 11, well, the Leafs will have blinked first. (The reported ask began with a 10 over the summer.)

And Nylander would have forced them to with his superb and consistent performance this season, picking right where he left off from his 40-goal 2022-23 and his excellent showing in the 2023 postseason.

Nylander has recorded at least one point in 31 of 35 games. His 50 points lead the Leafs in scoring, and the only players more productive in 2023-24 are MVP candidates: Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, and Artemi Panarin. End of list.

Today’s poster boy for a contract-year bump, Nylander is on pace for 45 goals and 117 points – both career highs – and he’s rounded out his two-way game by becoming a growing contributor to Toronto’s penalty kill (his two shorthanded strikes also lead the team).

Among the NHL’s highest-paid wingers, the $11.25-million estimated cap hit would place Nylander under Panarin ($11.64 million), right with Pastrnak, and above the underperforming Jonathan Huberdeau ($10.5 million) and Johnny Gaudreau ($9.75 million).

Such a payday would also raise questions about how Treliving can properly compensate fellow winger Mitch Marner, whose $10.9 million rate ends in 2025 when it’s his turn for UFA status. (But that will be a column for another day.)

Yes, Nylander has raised his own price, but the Leafs can ill afford to let a star of his magnitude walk away in his prime.

And if Nylander wants a windfall in the $88 to $90-million range, he’ll have a more difficult time getting it from another team as competitive as this one.

For the cash-flush Maple Leafs have never been afraid to frontload deals with core players and juice their signing bonuses. Plus, Toronto is the one team that can lessen Nylander’s cap hit slightly by spreading the total sum over eight years as opposed to seven.

Nothing’s official yet, but it certainly feels like Nylander’s bet on himself is going to pay off.