William Nylander and the Leafs are close to an agreement

William Nylander is one of the most dominant players in the NHL this season.

He has 51 points in 36 games… But it’s the fact that he’s been blanked just four times this season that is truly impressive.

The Swede is literally playing the best hockey of his career, and the timing is perfect because he’s in the final year of his current contract.

The Leafs player will be as free as a bird next summer, and the question on everyone’s mind in Toronto is this:

“Will Brad Treliving be able to keep him?

Right now, we seem to be sailing in that direction. Pierre LeBrun revealed in a text that discussions between the two sides are at an advanced stage:

I think it’s moving towards a maximum eight-year deal at over $11 million a year. – Pierre LeBrun

In my latest for@TheAthletic, drawing the parallels between the David Pastrnak and William Nylander negotiations as we head toward what appears an eventual extension for the Leafs star https://t.co/fkiFTZ2lMd

– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 4, 2024

Is this the right move?

It’s hard to say, because we know how tight the Leafs are on salary.

The contracts of John Tavares, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner already take up a lot of space on the club’s payroll (they all earn more than $10.9 million per season) and if Nylander signs a contract worth eleven million plus per season, it will limit Brad Treliving’s work.

But the logical idea is to trade one of those four forwards to get a good defenseman and help Treliving maneuver a bit. I can’t imagine a world where Toronto decides to keep its four big earners because there simply isn’t enough money to improve the team overall.

A salary cap increase of between $87 and $88 million is expected for next season (2024-2025), but still.

An NHL team can’t devote almost 50% of its payroll to just four players (assuming Nylander signs for more than $11 million per season). I

he Leafs’ four star players may be good, but we’ve seen in the past that the formula doesn’t work. It’s not as if the Leafs have ever won with the current group, after all…

Gossip

– Nice little photo.

Hey Filip pic.twitter.com/B85zAfLhtF

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) January 4, 2024

– I wish him well.

“I hope to play with Cole and Nick for a long time to come”https://t.co/3ERhV4BHVQ

– RDS (@RDSca) January 4, 2024

– Nice acquisition for the Golden Knights.

– Ranking of the best teams in the NHL.

SUPER TEAMS

See the full list here: https://t.co/x9yfNiztDo

Presented by @NewAmsterdam pic.twitter.com/CNPhc9NTGF

– NHL (@NHL) January 4, 2024

– A fine line-up for the Penguins player.