NHL Analyst: William Nylander To Be "Odd Man Out" For Maple Leafs

While the plan for the Toronto Maple Leafs is for Auston Matthews to sign an extension before the new season, there is much less certainty on fellow Leafs 40-goal scorer William Nylander. 

NHL Analyst and former Stanley Cup champ Mike Rupp, in fact, feels that Nylander will be the "odd man out."

I don't see them both getting signed. I have a feeling at some point, probably Willie Nylander is the odd man out because he's played so well, and he's so consistent, he's going to demand more. I don't know if this team can afford him, with John Tavares still under contract for two more seasons. 

Nylander's negotiation history with the Maple Leafs also doesn't bode well, as he was a hold-out in 2018 and missed the first 28 games of the season while he battled with the team over his last contract extension.

Leafs Insider Chris Johnson recently had this take on the Nylander situation:

When the Leafs signed Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to their second NHL contracts (a few years back), it was Nylander who signed first. He had to be the first one to put his salary on the board, and he ended up with just under $7M... Matthews then gets $11.6M, and Marner comes in and he gets $10.9M. And I think that  Nylander looks back on history and thinks the gap shouldn't be that wide. So I don't know that he's in a rush to be the next guy to commit first. I think he's quite comfortable waiting it out. 

After registering his first 40-goal season last year along with a dynamic playoff performance, Nylander has proven his worth amongst the 'Core Four'. But depending on just how much 'worth' he believes he's worth, it's possible he could be writing his ticket out of T.O.

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