Sportsnet: Leafs and Nylander closing ~$11.5M x 8 contract extension (NMC)

[Iggys Dome]

I mean, just look at the company he is in
View attachment 798750

He's only been a PPG winger the last 3 seasons, and the Leafs are comitting another $11.25M to cap when they already have 3 other forwards at the same AAV. Not to mention Marner who outproduces Nylander (except for this year, Nylander's contract year).

IDK, just seems like a recipe for the same results in the playoffs to me. I always thought the Leafs should trade Nylander/Marner for a top pairing D.

 

[AvroArrow]

Can you list some #1D he would be moved for in your opinion then?

There's not any available, there's no trade to be made.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Seems better than the alternative of letting him walk or trading him (realistically, not fantasy trades that will never happen). Toronto just has to keep trying to win as long as they have Matthews and useful pieces around him.

 

[LivingRentFree]

-Cap is going up
-Tavares will be gone or sign significantly cheaper
-Brodie is gone
-Haters crying over what they think is a $1 million overpayment

Perfect lol

 

[Prairie Habs]

So did no one see Friedman's report the Leafs looked hard for an impact dman they could use this money and and didn't find any that would make them better than keeping Willy?

I am happy to keep Nylander, and in a few seasons this deal will look great. Haters gunna hate. 99% of posters would love Nylander on their team.

Well duh, impact D are almost never available in season. Also, what do you expect the leafs to say? "Trades are hard, so I just kept and overpaid my own guys" is a tried and true excuse for bad GMs.

 

[FerrisRox]

Tavares is off the books in one year. Brodie. And a couple others. With the cap going up, we are comfortable.

The cap goes up, Nylander, Matthews and Marner get raises, and then you have to add in a second line centre to replace Tavares... Doesn't this just leave them right back where they are now? What will have changed?

 

[Martin Skoula]

If the Leafs core had taken even a million less each the team could have comfortably signed Alex Pietrangelo in 2020 rather than TJ Brodie.

That would have put them a lot closer to a Makar or a Hedman.

They could have signed him regardless, 3 mil is a joke to clear out on a roster that had a lot of middle 6 bloat. I’m on board with the whole kidnapping the guy and forcing him to sign against his will thing but unfortunately Dubas didn’t have the balls to commit several felonies to get Pietro to sign here against his will.

 

[Mugzy97]

Weren't leafs fans arguing that matthews getting 4 years was perfect because he'll go from 27-31 and anything longer would be paying a premium for dropping production? Weird how it's suddenly fine when willy signs for 8 years starting when he's 28.

One leaf fan has a radical opinion and now "leafs fans" are all of the same opinion?

 

[A1LeafNation]

https://x.com/GustavHerwitz/status/1744374272955503081?t=J5fj2TyF8RCjiJEb-KRnpA&s=09

 

[The90]

Call me Nostradamus if after 8 years and this core is past its prime with nothing to show for it and idiots in this fan bas will still say it was the right call.

So annoying

I probably won’t lol. No need for me to whine like that years on end. Waste of time.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

So did no one see Friedman's report the Leafs looked hard for an impact dman they could use this money and and didn't find any that would make them better than keeping Willy?

I am happy to keep Nylander, and in a few seasons this deal will look great. Haters gunna hate. 99% of posters would love Nylander on their team.

So the plan is to continue the current approach that has gotten them to one second round game victory since Matthews was drafted?

Tavares is off the books in one year. Brodie. And a couple others. With the cap going up, we are comfortable.

Even with Tavares off the books, the Leafs will have 3 of the 10 highest paid players in the league.

That's one team with 30% of the league's highest paid players in a 32 team league lol.

 

[HockeyVirus]

So the plan is to continue the current approach that has gotten them to one second round game victory since Matthews was drafted?

So your suggestion is to make a decision based on 1 season? Because the only year this is the current approach is next season.. Then Tavares and Marner are off the books. If Tavares wants to stay a Leaf which I assume he does, he will be taking the Bergeron special. A few mil base and bonuses based on production.

And this is one thing people overlook because it doesn't fit the narrative of laughing at the Leafs.

 

[Mugzy97]

So the plan is to continue the current approach that has gotten them to one second round game victory since Matthews was drafted?

Looking at the past is a waste of time. They're going to do what gives them the best chance at winning the cup. This would be the best way to do it, regardless of what happened any other season. The alternative route is let him walk and you get worse.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

So your suggestion is to make a decision based on 1 season? Because the only year this is the current approach is next season.. Then Tavares and Marner are off the books. If Tavares wants to stay a Leaf which I assume he does, he will be taking the Bergeron special. A few mil base and bonuses based on production.

And this is one thing people overlook because it doesn't fit the narrative of laughing at the Leafs.

I'm not making a decision off one season. I'm making a decision off 7 postseasons.

Sounds like the Leafs are the ones making a decision off one season (Not even one, half of one) because Nylander's current play this year is the only thing that's come close to making him an $11.5M player, and I like Nylander.

Also, FWIW, if I were to move on from one of the three, it'd be Marner.

 

[Strangle]

I thought Marner had an NMC as well?

In fact I thought Marner, Tavares, and Matthews all had NMC's that had kicked in. Have I got that wrong?

NMC really just means the player has to approve a trade. I can’t see why Marner would say no to Pittsburgh or why Dubas wouldn’t want him.

Once a team tells a player they want to move them, the player usually agrees. They just have say in the destination.

NMC doesn’t mean it’s illegal to trade a player. They only mean the player must agree

 

[The90]

Can you list some #1D he would be moved for in your opinion then?

2 can play that game. List one that’s available for us that makes sense to trade for.

 

[LivingRentFree]

The cap goes up, Nylander, Matthews and Marner get raises, and then you have to add in a second line centre to replace Tavares... Doesn't this just leave them right back where they are now? What will have changed?

That Tavares returns at 4-5 million cheaper, if that’s the route we choose? We get to keep our star players instead of letting them walk?

So the plan is to continue the current approach that has gotten them to one second round game victory since Matthews was drafted?



Even with Tavares off the books, the Leafs will have 3 of the 10 highest paid players in the league.

That's one team with 30% of the league's highest paid players in a 32 team league lol.

Yeah, that’s because a third of the league (or more) doesn’t have any star players. That’s kinda how the game works. You have good players, you pay them.

 

[I am Canadian]

He's having a great year, but you can't expect him 10 point producer throughout the life of his contract. This is only his 2nd year playing at a PPG level.

This is super nitpicky. Last five seasons;

54P in 37
87P in 82
80P in 81 [I'd consider this PPG]
42P in 52
59P in 68

He's been improving steadily, and is now on the PK.

 

[nbwingsfan]

I mean, just look at the company he is in
View attachment 798750

Now do the rest of his career instead of a single 37 game sample…

 

[Prairie Habs]

That Tavares returns at 4-5 million cheaper, if that’s the route we choose? We get to keep our star players instead of letting them walk?


Yeah, that’s because a third of the league (or more) doesn’t have any star players. That’s kinda how the game works. You have good players, you pay them.

Nylander alone is making 4.5M more than before, so that Tavares discount wouldn't even touch the Matthews or marner raises. The cap is going up, but its going up for everyone. I don't see how doubling down on what hasn't worked for half a decade would suddenly start working.

 

[Slats432]

I totally understand keeping your best players. The roster construction is an issue, but I actually (as a Leaf detractor) think they are in pretty good shape. Cap goes up making Nylander a push.

Let Bertuzzi, Domi, Brodie, Samsonov, Giordano walk. If they make some good moves, (Say acquire a top 3 dman and a decent goalie) they have the cap space for being a strong contender for the next couple years. If they are really good with their moves when Tavares contract is over, then they really are in good shape.

 

[Bgav]

i thought hes going to Chicago ?

 

[Number8]

NMC really just means the player has to approve a trade. I can’t see why Marner would say no to Pittsburgh or why Dubas wouldn’t want him.

Once a team tells a player they want to move them, the player usually agrees. They just have say in the destination.

NMC doesn’t mean it’s illegal to trade a player. They only mean the player must agree

No, I get it. However, it does put limitations on a GM. Bottom line is Toronto cannot trade any of their big 4 forwards without permission to do so from player. And that can obviously impact return or even whether a deal goes through.

San Jose offers primo package. Player says no.
Colorado offers package with 15% less value. Player chomps at bit to go to Denver.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I'm not making a decision off one season. I'm making a decision off 7 postseasons.

Also, FWIW, if I were to move on from one of the three, it'd be Marner.

Me too. It's just shortsighted to laugh and say haha they are doing the same thing. No one has any idea what Trelivings plans are for the future. Since day 1 he said he wants to add massively to defense. All reports are he is working on it but not much out there in season.

The other thing is, Leafs have the most cap flexibility in the league. The only core pieces extended past next season are Matthews, Nylander, and Rielly. They have some great pieces like Knies, Woll, Robertson on ELC's and will be getting bridged and fill some key spots for us, especially Knies.

Leafs have also been one of the best teams in the league at finding great depth pieces for cheap. A guy like Jarnkrok only making 2.1 is an absolute steal.

So what do the Leafs have to work with? Well, they have the best goalscorer in the league locked up, a top winger in the game, and a #1 D who is having the best season of his career and is our best player every playoff. They have a potential future starter in both Woll and HIldebeast in the system already which when Woll needs a bigger deal, Hildebeast likely is ready to be a backup on an ELC.

The hard part, well you can't fill all the holes in UFA. But some of them can be. You can add top 4 D like Brodie pretty easily who give great value. You can make moves like the Muzzin trade and get 3 seasons of top pairing play out of a first and some mid prospects.

It's a challenge, but the Leafs have a great farm system right now with lots of prospects with value, they have their first this year and future draft picks. And they have a ton of cap space to work with to fill in the holes and retool the core by removing Marner if they wanted.

And all of that is irrelevant when I say, I am not convinced the Leafs are that far away from winning as it is anyways. HFboards don't watch the Leafs, they have no idea what they have. All it takes is Matthews being hot, Nylander being himself, some hot goaltending.

 

[LudwigVonKarlsson]

This is super nitpicky. Last five seasons;

54P in 37
87P in 82
80P in 81 [I'd consider this PPG]
42P in 52
59P in 68

He's been improving steadily, and is now on the PK.

Okay, we will give him 2 1/2 seasons of PPG play during an inflated scoring era.