The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed one of their core pieces for a long time.
On Monday multiple reports surfaced indicating the Leafs were extending right winger William Nylander for the next eight seasons, with the contract being worth $92 million, an AAV of $11.5 million. TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the news.
As reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the contract will have a full no-movement clause “all the way through.” Nylander is in the final year of his previous contract, a six-year deal that is just a hair under an AAV of $7 million, that was infamously signed just before the restricted free agent deadline in the middle of the 2018-19 season.
Nylander is off to the best start of his nine-year career. After beginning the season with a franchise-record 17-game point streak, the Calgary-born star is on his way to having a career year.
Through 37 games, Nylander has 21 goals and 33 assists, well on his way to eclipsing his 87-point 2022-23 season. It would make three consecutive campaigns where he has hit the 80-point plateau. Nylander’s 54 points leads the Leafs, nine points clear of the Rocket Richard Trophy leader, Auston Matthews. The Swedish product has etched his name on the scoresheet in 16 of his last 17 games, totaling 27 points over that span.
Nylander has been a part of the young core that has led Toronto to the postseason in each of the previous seven seasons. Since making his debut late in the 2015-16 campaign, he has scored 198 goals and 286 assists for 484 points in 558 games.
The 27-year-old was selected by the Leafs eighth overall in the 2014 draft, quickly making his way up through the minors before becoming a mainstay on the team’s top six.
Coming off a trip through California where they beat the Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks, the Leafs (20-10-7) are third in the Atlantic Division, seven points behind the first-place Boston Bruins, and three points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, who sit fourth.
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