While much of the focus early this season has been around Auston Matthews’ next contract, the Toronto Maple Leafs also have another star player just a year away from reaching unrestricted free agency.
The six-year, $45 million deal William Nylander signed in December 2018 is set to expire after the 2023-24 season, so he’ll be eligible to sign a contract extension this summer.
Elliott Friedman spoke briefly about Nylander on Friday’s episode of 32 ideas: podcasts. Friedman said the Leafs’ papers “would have been running into (signing) Nylander” and that he was “very curious to know what would happen here if it wasn’t extended by July 1st”.
Of course, the Leafs and Nylander can’t formally agree on a deal until July 1, exactly one year before his contract expires, but what Friedman is implying here is that the team may seek to trade the player if talks are extended. The next few weeks are not going well.
Leafs general manager Brad Treleving knows all about going into a season with key players moving closer to free agency. When he was the general manager of the Calgary Flames, Treliving went into the 2021-22 season with Johnny Goudreau and Matthew Tkachuk on expired contracts. Gaudreau left the team in free agency to sign with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Tkachuk then requested a trade soon after.
Nylander is coming off the best season of his career. The 27-year-old posted a career high of 40 goals and 87 points during the regular season and scored four goals and 10 points over 11 games for the Leafs in the playoffs. His $6,962,366 salary cap is now a bargain and Nylander will be able to get a nice raise on his next deal.