Toronto Maple Leafs: William Nylander Contract Turns Out to be Great
By Joseph Zita
It has been well over a year since William Nylander re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he is continuing to shut his haters down with his play this season.
William Nylander who held out from playing hockey for the first couple months of the 2018-19 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, is playing in his first full season under his new contract.
Safe to say, he is living up to that contract this year, and if it’s not already team-friendly, it is sure to be soon.
Nylander’s current contract sees him getting paid exactly $6,962,366 dollars a year.
Nylander’s Contract
William Nylander agreed to terms on a contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 1, 2018.
The contracts details are to follow, but you probably already know what it is…
6 years x $6.9M (Modified NTC in final year) Nylander submits a ten team no trade list to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The contract for Nylander kicked in during last season the 2018-19 season, and expires after the 2023-24 season. (Stats from CapFriendly.com)
Nylander’s Season Last Year
Yes, we all know by now that Nylander’s season last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs was not the greatest, and to be honest I don’t blame him for not producing at a high rate in the 54 games he did suit up for.
These are Nylander’s stats for last season…
54 GP – 7G ~ 20A ~ 27 PTS
These are his stats for the 2019 playoffs against the Boston Bruins…
7 GP – 1G ~ 2A ~ 3 PTS
(Stats from NHL.com)
The reason why I don’t blame him for not having a great 54 game season last year and seven games in the playoffs is simply because the main reason he sat out in October and November and didn’t play an NHL game since game 7 of the 2018 playoffs the year prior.
That is eight months of not playing an NHL game.
Additionally, his shooting percentages were very low, while his peripheral numbers were strong. He still didn’t have a good year, but his play was likely better than the point totals indicate.
Nylander’s Season This Year
Fast forward to the 2019-20 season, and there were lots of story lines.
How would the Toronto Maple Leafs perform after losing Kadri and picking up Barrie and Kerfoot? How hot would Babcock’s seat be hot after three straight round 1 losses as Maple Leafs head coach?
Eyes were also on William Nylander and how he will respond to all the negative comments said about him and his contract.
Safe to say William Nylander has definitely been one of the Toronto Maple Leafs most consistent player all year and you can make a case that he has been their third best player all year so far.
These are Nylander’s stats for this season…
68 GP – 31G ~ 28A ~ 59 PTS
Nylander missed two games this season due to illness so he hasn’t played the 70 games the team has played.
Over the season so far Nylander has gone on multiple hot streaks and at some times been the best player on the team during some stretches, as well as one of the most consistent.
He has had a total of three five-game point streaks, one nine-game point streak, and a couple of short streaks either four games or less. In those streaks here are his point totals…
Five games ~ Oct 2 – Oct 10 (2G 3A 5 PTS)
Five games ~ Dec 23 – Jan 2 (6G 5A 11 PTS)
Nine games ~ Jan 12 – Feb 5 (6G 5A 11 PTS)
Five games ~ Feb 18 – Feb 27 (3G 3A 9 PTS)
(Stats from NHL.com)
Next. Why The Leafs Will Never Trade William Nylander. dark
All in all, William Nylander is more than earning his contract, and it appears he will be an important part of the Toronto Maple Leafs core for years to come.