Maple Leafs Rumors: Insiders Have Latest on William Nylander Extension Talks

 

Things have been a little quiet through the Christmas season when it comes to contract talks for impending unrestricted free agent William Nylander. But according to insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, things are still looking up, and the Toronto Maple Leafs and the star forward’s camp will be accelerating the talks in the New Year.

There has been an open dialogue between the Leafs and his camp, but at no point has anything been derailed. They’ve also been keeping things very, very close to the vest. They’re going to escalate conversations and talks into the New Year. Once the calendar flips over in a few days to 2024, negotiations, from what I’ve been told, between the Leafs and Willie’s camp are going to start to pick up a little bit.

Fellow insider Chris Johnson also believes that “there will be a push to get him signed in the New Year.”

 Nylander has made his intentions clear that he would like to remain in Toronto, and certainly the Leafs would like to retain him. The goal now is to bridge the gap that existed before the season, when the team was offering no more than $9M AAV, while Nylander was looking at $10M minimum. 

But with the cap going up next season as Pagnotta notes, there should be some “wiggle room.”

“Both sides want a long-term deal, you’re probably looking at an eight year extension,” He added. “It’s just a matter of the Leafs being comfortable with a $10M+ player, another one, on the roster.” 

Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares are already topping the $10 million mark in AAV. 

Nylander is off to a tremendous start to the season, sitting in the Top 5 among NHL scoring leaders with 46 points, on 16 goals and 30 assists in 32 games. He’s certainly doing nothing to hurt his contract demands. 

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