The Toronto Maple Leafs are finding it harder than they thought to come to an agreement on an extension with star forward William Nylander.
William Nylander, a star forward for the Toronto Maple Leafs, is in the last season of his six-year, $45 million contract, which he signed in December 2018. The player and the club have differing opinions on the terms of a new contract for the 27-year-old.
The Leafs will soon need to allocate funds to renew Auston Matthews' contract, which expires after the upcoming season. Therefore, there may be limited funds available for new contracts.
According to Pierre LeBrun from The Athletic, Nylander has a 10-team no-trade list as part of his modified no-trade clause. There's no pressure to come to an agreement yet, but Toronto would like to know sooner than later as they set up their future.
The Swede will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024 unless a deal is agreed upon.
NHL Rumors: Maple Leafs could explore trade market for William Nylander
According to LeBrun, if GM Brad Treliving fails to secure a deal for Nylander, he may have to consider exploring the trade market instead. While the haul he would get back can be significant, this outcome is not exactly what the team had initially hoped for.
The Maple Leafs would suffer a significant setback if Nylander were to leave the team.
Nylander has been a productive player, scoring 295 points in 336 games during his current contract. He had his best season last year, with 40 goals and 87 points, and contributed 10 points in 11 postseason games.
The Leafs have many star players on their roster and are already close to the salary cap, so it will be interesting to see if they can secure Nylander's contract.
In the meantime, the team has already signed John Klingberg, Ryan Reaves, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Max Domi in free agency. Toronto has $1.59 million left in cap space this summer.
