It Is A Wait And See Approach To William Nylander Extension

The hockey world continues to revolve around the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto is truly the center of the hockey universe. There is some debate about that in Montreal. But with Auston Matthews signing his new contract extension the focus shifts now to William Nylander.

Nylander is heading into the final year of his six-year, $41.4 million deal. His current deal carries a $6.9 million AAV. He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the deal.

We know what contract talks were like with Nylander and the Maple Leafs last time. He held out until December 1, 2018, to sign his current deal with then-general manager Kyle Dubas. Expect a similar situation to play out with Nylander and the Leafs this time around as well.

It does not seem that William Nylander and Brad Treliving are worrying about contract talks.

During the NHL European Media Tour, Maple Leafs forward William Nylander spoke about his current situation. Nylander made it clear he wants to be in Toronto for a long time. Nylander is taking a carefree approach to contract talks.

“For me, the contract, obviously, I want it to work where I can stay there and be there,” Nylander said at the NHL European Player Media Tour last Wednesday. “There’s no other place I want to play, but I still have one more year left. I don’t understand why there’s such a big rush to do something right now. I still have one more year left.”

And it does sound like the general manager is not worrying about it either.

“We will continue to work at William’s. William is a terrific player. He’s a star, and you want to keep your good players,” Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving said. “We have time. William’s got a year left on his contract. We will continue to work away at it. Hopefully, when we have good news, we will be sure to share it.”

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And that is the attitude a general manager should have, considering Nylander was not the priority. It was Matthews, after all.

As David Alter of SI.com and the Hockey News said when he joined the Full Press Hockey Podcast on Tuesday, August 29th.

“The William Nylander one is tricky and was not as a high priority as Auston Matthews because as good as William Nylander is he is not Auston Matthews. Brad Treliving can finally breathe and see what he has got. Everything else he can see what his team is with these other guys including William Nylander. From there he can decide during the season or earlier about an extension.

Can a William Nylander extension happen during training camp? Absolutely. if there is something where dollar amount and stuff and the player changes his mind and decides he wants to be here and comes back at them. Sure. But I don’t see an imminent rush now just because I don’t think Brad Treliving necessary had to come here and make all these decisions right away without seeing what he has got in front of him. The William Nylander one can wait a bit.” 

Ken Campbell joined the Full Press Hockey Podcast last week and shared a similar opinion to Alter:

Nylander is focusing on just playing hockey this season and helping the Maple Leafs win as well.

“But I’m just focused on getting ready for the season and having my best season yet in order to help us take the next step, too,” Nylander said. 

This doesn’t mean Nylander would mind getting his contract situation settled before the season.

“Yeah, it would be fun if it would be done, but it’s not like that where my focus is at,” Nylander continued. “I’m just ready to have the best season yet and that will take care of itself when it’s ready to happen. So, I’m not worried about it.”

It will be interesting to see what comes next. One thing is for sure the Nylander situation is worth watching.