Toronto Maple Leafs: Dylan Larkin Contract Consequences

A key divisional rival of the Toronto Maple Leafs locked up a piece of their core yesterday.

This will directly affect the Toronto Maple Leafs and their attempt to re-sign their young forward  William Nylander.

The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed Dylan Larkin to a 6-year, $30.5 million contract with an AAV of $6.1 million. The 22-year old Michigan native is now the highest paid player in the Red Wings organization after posting a team high 63 points in the final year of his ELC.

Looking over the contract it’s pretty cut and dry. The Red Wings needed to keep Larkin for the future and they were able to lock him up. But being divisional rivals of the Toronto Maple Leafs makes this signing a little more important for Leafs Nation.

The Red Wings re-signing a young forward who hasn’t reached his career peak and still managed to score 63 points on a team that finished 32 points behind the Leafs is worrisome. In 242 games, Larkin has recorded 140 points, 20 of them on the power play, with last season being his first hitting 60 points. He’s registered a 1.6% relative Corsi and 148 takeaways as well.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Against the Leafs Larkin finds the score sheet. In 11 games, Larkin has 4 goals and 4 assists when opposing the Maple Leafs. Looking over his statistics, Larkin is a threat on the ice that the Leafs will have to deal with for the another 6 years.

But the most important aspect of Larkin re-signing is how the contract could be used during the William Nylander contract negotiations.

As we await to see when Nylander and the Leafs will come to terms, Larkin’s deal will play a role in negotiations, because it is now apparent that Nylander will make more money than Larkin. We all know Nylander is going to make more than $6 million, and now he can use Larkin as a tool to earn more.

Statistically Nylander is far more impressive than Larkin. Sure Nylander has 135 career points, 5 less than Larkin, but he recorded those points in far fewer games (185 games vs 242 games). 41 of Nylander’s points came on the PP, compared to Larkin’s 20. Nylander also has a 2.9% relative Corsi, higher than Larkin’s. While he may be on the lower end of importance when compared to someone like Larkin, who is the lead figure of the Red Wings’ future, Nylander is an important cog in the Toronto Maple Leafs offensive machine. With his production, Nylander could easily ask for a contract north of $6.5 million or potentially $7 million when using Larkin as a crutch in negotiations.

Dylan Larkin re-signing with the Detroit Red Wings is a problem for the Toronto Maple Leafs on the ice and off. Larkin is going to be a pest to deal with for the next 6 years as he tries to help the Red Wings compete with the Leafs and everyone else in the Atlantic Division.

Off the ice William Nylander could use this as a means to earn a contract well over $6.5 million when comparing his production on the ice to Larkin’s. As the summer is coming to an end, the signing will affect the Leafs for years to come, in play and financially.

Financial figures courtesy of capfriendly.com

Statistics courtesy of hockeyreference.com