William Nylander and the Leafs are close to an agreement

If he isn’t signed by July 1, William Nylander will generate a lot of interest on the free agent market.

Could the Habs be interested? I mentioned in a text yesterday that Kent Hughes should be one of the UFA big fish. One thing’s for sure, that’s the kind of player the Habs will be targeting.

On the other hand, it’s possible that Nylander will come to an agreement with Toronto before he becomes a free agent. According to Nick Kypreos, the two camps would like to reach an agreement before the All-Star festivities (February 1-3), which are being held in the Queen City.

Are #LeafsForever and William Nylander close to making a deal? @RealKyper shares the latest on the Nylander contract talks with @jtbourne & @SamAMcKee.

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– Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) January 2, 2024

Still according to Kypreos, the annual amount of the contract would be enormous.

What’s circulating is that it will be a figure above 11 million, 11.25 is what we hear most often. – Nick Kypreos

Even if Toronto is tight financially, the club will benefit – like everyone else – from an increase in the salary cap. The NHL plans to raise the cap to $87.675 million. Currently, it stands at $83.5 million.

Also, guys like Tyler Bertuzzi, TJ Brodie, Jake Muzzin, John Klingberg and Max Domi become UFAs, too. Brad Treliving could free up a few pennies, then.

If Nylander receives a contract worth $11.25 million, he would be the NHL’s sixth-highest-paid player annually, tied with David Pastrnak. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Artemi Panarin, teammate Auston Matthews and Erik Karlsson all have annual salaries in excess of $11.25 million.

Before tonight’s games, the Swede is the fifth-highest scorer on the Bettman circuit, tied with a certain Connor McDavid, and J.T. Miller.

He deserves a pact like that. It remains to be seen whether this will happen, and how many more years he’ll be in Toronto.

Imagine if the team and the player could come to an agreement before the All-Star festivities… He’d be even more welcome by the fans there (if he’s invited, of course).

In gusto

– Montreal in action in Ottawa.

– Do you agree?

Marc Denis presents his list of the NHL’s top 10 goaltenders at the halfway point of the season. What do you think of this list? pic.twitter.com/vXngVgkpvR

– Hockey 360 (@hockey360) January 3, 2024

– Auston Matthews following in Ovi’s footsteps.

Here’s how Auston Matthews and Alex Ovechkin compare at this point through their careers

(H/T: @espn) pic.twitter.com/cRRJpFcEv5

– BarDown (@BarDown) January 3, 2024

– That’s a lot.

– A hefty fine.