The New Jersey Devils are set to make some major moves this offseason with a ton of picks and cap space. In the latest Pucks and Pitchforks Pipe Dream, we take a look at acquiring William Nylander from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Here we go again. Sure, this is mostly of our own doing, but it’s been talked about a lot about the issues with William Nylander up in Toronto, and after his hold out this season the media and fans alike have called for him to move on. It’s insane, yes, but the Toronto Maple Leafs fans and media haven’t been known for their sanity. This can mean greatness for the New Jersey Devils.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in dire need of cap space this offseason. With Auston Matthews new contract hitting the books starting next season, the Leafs have a total of $6 million in cap space if the salary cap goes up to $83 million. That doesn’t sound terrible, but they have quite a bit of re-signing to do.
So, why of all the people on their books, would they try and trade away a 22 year old who already has two 60-point seasons? Not really sure, especially since they could have traded him at any point during his contract dispute that went all the way to December. His value was arguably higher at that point, although other GMs likely tried to jump on the Maple Leafs desperation. Either way, they decided it was best to keep Nylander.
So, again, why would now be the time to move him? He has five more years left on his deal, and he’s proven himself an integral part of this franchise prior to this year. He missed not only training camp, but he missed the first two months of the season. He tried to make up for it, but never really figured it out. Maybe he could figure it out on the Devils next season.
There are some really convincing reason why the Maple Leafs would trade Nylander to the Devils. Here are five that could prove this pipe dream true.
Maple Leafs Restricted Free Agents
The Maple Leafs have Jake Gardiner, Ron Hainsey, and Tyler Ennis as unrestricted free agents. They have no interest in bringing them back, because they just can’t afford it. They can’t even think of bringing back Gardiner because of how much their restricted free agents are going to make.
One restricted free agent in particular that’s going to ruin their cap space is Mitch Marner. He’s going to command at the VERY LEAST $8 million per season. That’s on the lowest possible end of this. Marner compares favorably to the likes of Mark Stone and David Pastrnak. Stone is getting paid a premium at $9.5 million and Pastrnak is getting paid a deal at $6.66 million.
Some say Marner is looking for $10 million, and Brad Marchand thinks he deserves $12 million, although that feels like he’s planning for something there. At $10 million, Marner might be the one getting traded. However, this is a winger who’s upside is a 100-point player. Trading a player like that when he’s 21 years old seems crazier than trading Nylander at the bottom of his value.
The Maple Leafs also have Kasperi Kapanen and Andrea Johnsson. Neither of them will come close to the contracts of Nylander or Marner, but combined expect their contracts to his $6-$7 million total.
That means the Leafs have to come up with at least $15 million in cap space when there’s only $6 million to work with. Getting rid of Nylander now makes that $15 million. That at least figures that mess out.
Devils Have The Picks Toronto Will Want, Mostly
The starting negotiations will have the Maple Leafs asking for the Devils 1st-round pick in this year’s NHL Draft. Kyle Dubas will call Ray Shero, argue that Nylander is a former 8th-overall pick who’s beyond proven himself. They’ll say if he was in this year’s draft, he would be a top-five pick. Therefore, he should be worth the Devils top-five pick.
That’s not going to fly with Shero. Dubas is a good GM, but he’s not good enough to fleece Mr. Shero.
The Devils have a lot to offer the Maple Leafs. They have a lot of good prospects who have immense upside. The Devils also have a few roster players on really solid deals. Most importantly, the Devils have a lot of draft picks in this year’s draft.
The Devils have six picks in the first three rounds of the draft, including three 2nd-round picks. They’d likely be willing to part with two of those picks, and then some, to bring Nylander into the fold. Sure, the Leafs won’t get that one big piece from the Devils, but they will get controllable assets. They desperately need those with Matthews, soon to be Marner, John Tavares, Nazem Kadri and Morgan Reilly all signed through at least 2022.
The Devils will never give them an offer they can’t refuse, but they could easily give them an offer they can live with, and at the end of the day that might just be enough.
He’s Got Term That May Scare Other Teams
The New Jersey Devils have so much cap space coming up in the next few years, that trading for Nylander will feel like a drop in the bucket. Close to $7 million dollars isn’t chump change, but with the upside of Nylander it’s well worth it. The Devils can easily bring on his cap hit, while also paying fair wages to Taylor Hall, Nico Hischier, Sami Vatanen and Jesper Bratt when they eventually come up.
Other teams aren’t in a similar situation. With the salary cap going up every season, most teams would like Nylander on the short term, but committing to $35 million more on the salary cap is a steep hit.
That’s going to knock some teams out of the running for the Leafs. Also, there are at least half a dozen teams in a similar situation. The Colorado Avalanche are having issues finding the right price for Mikko Rantanen. In between post-game celebrations, the Carolina Hurricanes think about how much to pay Sebastian Aho. Patrik Laine is a mystery in Winnipeg, and some are even talking theirselves out of him in general for his inconsistency.
Basically, the Devils have the opportunity to slip under the radar and make a major deal. They have the assets, and they have the opportunity. This could be the perfect deal, and would help both teams in the long term.
Taking Nathan Horton
This one’s a wild card that might fall even further down the rabbit hole. Nathan Horton hasn’t played an NHL game since 2013, when concussion issues ended his career the first year of his new contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Maple Leafs ended up taking on his contract in exchange for the Jackets taking on David Clarkson‘s contract.
This can be like one of those six degrees of separation things. David Clarkson leaves the Devils to sign a massive contract with the Maple Leafs. He gets traded to the Jackets for Nathan Horton. Horton gets traded to the Devils in a deal that brings Nylander to New Jersey.
The Devils are one of a few teams who could take on such a cap hit for nothing. Horton is getting paid $5.3 million next seasons. The rules for LTIR are extremely complicated, as CapFriendly attempts to explain here. Either way, if the Devils take on his cap hit, then those complications are no longer Kyle Dubas’ problem.
Obviously, if the Devils agree to take on Horton’s contract in a Nylander trade, then the compensation goes down considerably for the Maple Leafs. It’s probably now in the range of a 2nd-round pick and a good prospect. Taking this much salary from the Maple Leafs really helps them, and it’s something very few teams can do at this time.
Also, Horton’s contract is only one more season. It will all be over in time to re-sign Hall.
He Joins A Team Where He Can Be Happy
Listen, this isn’t to say that Nylander can’t be happy in Toronto. However, the media seems to be turning on him, and the fans aren’t far behind. His contract negotiation tactics will follow him for a long time. Every time he goes into a slump, pettiness will follow him. A bad season will come with questions of “is he worth it?”
If he comes to the Devils in the offseason, his hold out goes away forever. He didn’t hold the Devils hostage for months. Nobody in Devils media or the fanbase will give two hoots what he did in Toronto as long as he produces once he gets here.
Nylander can join a team where he’s not the only young gun on the team. Right now, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha, Joey Anderson, Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian are all 21 years of age or younger. We’ve seen before that these players like to hang out together, and genuinely enjoy each other’s company. They play together, then they enjoy time outside of hockey together. Whether it’s getting dinner in a new town, playing video games, or a costume party, it shows this Devils team is close knit.
This would be a great situation for Nylander to join. He can be a part of this core for the rest of his career. Obviously, eventually this team will lose players, just like the Maple Leafs now, but this is years away. For now, let’s rejoice if the Devils are able to acquire Nylander this offseason.