William Nylander Re-signs

After a few days of rumors, William Nylander has signed his much-anticipated contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. On Monday, Nylander (27) signed an 8-year, $11.5 million AAV contract, making him one of the highest-paid players on the Leafs' payroll.

Contract specifics:

$69 million of the contract is in bonuses, and $27 million of the contract will be paid in the first 2 seasons. The contract also has a No-Movement Clause (NMC) and a No-Trade Clause (NTC) throughout all 8 years of the contract.

My opinion and where I think the Leafs will go from here:

My initial reaction to the contract was very surprised by the NMC and NTC throughout the whole term. Nylander will be 28 by the time that contract kicks in, so by the time the contract is over, he will be 36. I have seen many people mention how the contract is too long or that it’s too much money. Granted, next season with the Leafs' top players taking roughly around 50% of the Leafs' total cap space, Tavares and Marner’s contracts are both over by the end of next season. I can see Tavares taking a big discount to continue playing with the Leafs, but for Marner, I don’t see how he will be able to return.

By the time Marner’s contract is over, he will be close to 30. He’ll be looking for a long-term contract, which I don’t think the Leafs will be able to accommodate as I think he’ll be asking for north of $12 million.

Another topic that I have seen on social media is how the Nylander contract will be pretty bad towards the last years of the contract. Yes, a 36-year-old making $11.5 million is a lot, but it’s important to remember that the money is mainly to keep him during his prime and to see his production through the first 5 years. It’s also worth noting how much the cap could change by the time we get near the end of the contract. With the cap going up $4 million this season, who knows how much the cap will go up by, and this contract could end up being a steal.

Final thoughts:

I think this contract was necessary for the Leafs if they want to compete for the Stanley Cup. Although the AAV is high right now, I think this contract will look better around 3-5 years into the deal. But then again, anything is possible.

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