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Toronto Maple Leafs: Predicting William Nylander’s Next Contract

By Branden Poelzer

Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center William Nylander (29) controls the puck against the New York Rangers at Air Canada Centre. The Rangers beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 23, 2017; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center William Nylander (29) controls the puck against the New York Rangers at Air Canada Centre. The Rangers beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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After the conclusion of this season, William Nylander will have one year remaining on his entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, signed in 2014.

Nylander will be the first of three potential superstars playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs being able to cash in on his first big contract.

The Numbers

William Nylander is only 20 years old, and has put up impressive point totals early into his NHL career. With 67 points in 93 NHL games, Nylander will be looking for a contract suited for his production. This contract will also be a figure used by many to ballpark the next contracts of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews.

NHL Comparable Contracts

I have focused my research on players that are close to Nylander’s age and point production per game. This portrays a general idea of what kind of money Nylander will be looking for when he signs his contract after next season.

PlayerCareer PPGContractAAV
W. Nylander0.72ELC$894,167
A. Barkov0.6696 Year, 35.4 M$5,900,000
N. MacKinnon0.6837 Year, 44.1 M$6,300,000
S. Monahan0.6747 Year, 44.625 M$6,375,000
F. Forsberg0.7366 Year, 36 M$6,000,000

All contract information courtesy of www.capfriendly.com

First, I would like to point out that every player listed other than Nylander has played in over 200 NHL games. Nylander hasn’t quite reached 100 games so his statistics are from a smaller sample size. His career PPG can easily fluctuate at this point in his career. Nylander is an elite talent. Very strong on the offensive side of the game and has all the tools to become a top-end player in this league.

Of all of the comparisons that can be made with the players listed above, I believe the closest would be Filip Forsberg and Nylander. Very close in terms of points per game, and Nylander still has another season on his entry-level contract. They are both offensive specialists that have immense potential.

Need Proof? The guy can shoot. A hard and accurate shot with a quick release.

Recent Leafs Contracts of Great Value

At the end of last season, Lou Lamoriello signed both Nazem Kadri and Morgan Rielly to six year contracts. This cemented their status as main core pieces moving forward. People don’t realize how much value the Leafs are getting for these new contracts.

Kadri is signed at a cap hit of $4.5M annually, and Rielly at a cap hit of $5M, both over the next six years. Kadri has smashed his previous career high in points and has been transformed into a premier shutdown centre.

Reilly has been deployed on the top defensive pairing all season long, logging huge minutes and even time on the penalty kill. He was even a key member of team North America at the World Cup of Hockey in September. These contracts are of great value, maybe the Leafs could work out something similar with Nylander.

Conclusion

Even if his statistics rise, The Forsberg contract of six years, $36M would be good money for Nylander with similar term.

Nylander would then be getting paid the equivalent of a superstar. This contract would be considered team-friendly, leaving plenty of room to sign the likes of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. A good deal for both sides, and Nylander gets to stick around with a dynasty for another 6 years.

Projection: 36 million, 6 years, 6 M AAV.

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