William Nylander, Maple Leafs Agree to 8-Year, $92M Contract Extension
The Toronto Maples Leafs and superstar right-winger William Nylander have reached an eight-year contract extension worth $11.5 million per season, putting the total value at $92 million.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the deal will include a full no-movement clause for the entirety of the deal, meaning he couldn’t be traded, waived or sent down to the minors without his consent.https://bbcsportss.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/leafs-fans-cheer-1.avif
Nylander, 27, had a career year in the 2022-23 campaign, setting career highs in both goals (40) and assists (47). He was probably on pace for an even bigger year, but a late-season slump that saw him only post five goals and eight points in his last 16 games—and one he admitted was at least partly due to being distracted over a potential contract extension—slowed his pace.
“I think it was more so thinking if I finish off the season great we could have a contract done by summer,” he told The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel. “I think that was putting a little bit too much pressure (on me)—maybe after some games where maybe the puck didn’t go in and then that dragged on.”
Still, it was his second straight season with 80 or more points, and the former No. 8 overall pick in the 2014 draft is well on pace for another monster year, with 21 goals and 33 assists through just 37 games. His 54 points have him tied for fifth in the NHL in scoring with Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Connor McDavid.
In Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares, the Maple Leafs have one of the game’s most dynamic attacking groups and rank seventh in goals scored per game (3.49). That has the team sitting on 47 points and in third place in the Atlantic Division.
The goal is a Stanley Cup this season, which would end a drought dating back to the 1966-67 season. But Nylander now has more than a decade to help the Maple Leafs reclaim their former glory.
“That would be a dream to stay here,” he told reporters over the weekend. “I mean, to play for such an organization. And I call Toronto home. So I think that’d be a very special feeling.”
