William Nylander
Alright, let’s just get this one out of the way. We’ve mentioned William Nylander every single year. We talked about it way back in 2018 when the Maple Leafs were trying to figure out his contract. It was discussed in 2019 when the Maple Leafs were in a similar position looking to shake things up. We had a conversation in 2020 when the Maple Leafs had another early exit.
Obviously, there’s a reason for it. The Devils would love to have that contract, and it would bring the Maple Leafs a haul whoever they trade with. The general consensus in previous years is the Maple Leafs should stick with the same formula. It had to eventually work, right? Well, this season they just happened to face the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
It just feels like it’s time to make that huge move we’ve all been projecting for years. The Leafs can’t try this again exactly as they’ve been doing this, can they?
Nylander probably isn’t their biggest priority in terms of moving. He still has two years left on his contract. He makes just under $7 million per season, which is about $4 million less than Tavares, Matthews, and Marner. Even with the loss of contracts, the Leafs only have around $2.5 million in cap space and they need to add quite a bit. They will make certain moves to deal with that, but adding a quick $7 million while also getting a superstar haul in return is not a bad situation for Toronto. However, to even get traction on this deal, the Devils would have to seriously wow the Leafs with a trade proposal.