NHL Network: David Pagnotta on whether the Toronto Maple Leafs are any closer to signing Austin Mathews And William Nylander to extend the contract.
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Nick Gismondi: “What about the Maple Leafs? They’ve already made a number of moves to shake up their roster but what do you think of the latest Auston Matthews and William Nylander contracts?”
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Pagnotta: “Okay, well, first of all with that roster, they still need to make some moves there. They have to clear some cap space in order to get everybody fit.
Thankfully, these two guys here, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, are both contract bound for this upcoming season. Then, they need it.
I will tell you one thing, talking to a bunch of people about this situation, first of all, William Nylander is nowhere near a stretch. He’s looking at over $10 million a season for eight full years and the Leafs are close to $8.5 million. They have some work to do to kind of bridge that gap.
The other thing I can tell you is, I wouldn’t, I’d be surprised, excuse me, if Auston Matthews put pen to paper before Nylander did, at least for now.
It would be a three, four or five year contract for Auston Matthews in Toronto. not exceed five years. This is pretty much secured. Anywhere from $13 to just over $14 million on an AAV depending on which year it came with.
But I would be very surprised if he closed in on William Nylander. It looks like the Leaf is trying to focus on Nylander to get it done.
At the same time they want to free up extra cover space to make all their little pieces fit. Are they going to buy Matt Murray? TJ Brodyname is there. They have some options.
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Regarding these two men, there is some work to be done. He expected Nylander to start before Matthews’ camp entered a trade.