The Toronto Maple Leafs signed William Nylander to a contract worth $6.962 mil per season for six years back in 2018.
At the time, I didn’t really get or like the signing, but as time progressed I am starting to see just how good of a deal this is for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Especially after witnessing the contracts being handed out this off-season.
Nylander is a great offensive player and fans are well aware of his skillset.
He is an offensive dynamo that gives coaches fits as they figure out who they will play against Nylander and John Tavares or Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. He is capable of finishing plays, starting plays, and possesses the size needed to play physically when called upon.
Nylander’s Contract a Bargain for the Toronto Maple Leafs
This past season, Nylander scored 80 points in 81 games, last season he scored 42 in 52 games. Compared to the likes of Kevin Fiala who recently signed a deal for $7.875 the Toronto Maple Leafs are getting a bargain. Nyander is a significantly better player. (All info from capfriendly.com).
Mika Zibanejad is also a player of note who finished the season with comparable points to games played to Nylander. He was recently signed to a contract worth $8.5 million per season as a first line center. He has had many more chances to rack up the points compared to Nylander, but they both finished with the same production rate.
What am I getting at here? Nylander brings in solid production at a cheap price for the Leafs whose contract brings the average price of the Leafs four big contracts way down. By getting such value on the Nylander deal, the Leafs are able to make the strategy of spending most of their money on a few star players work.
Nylander brings just that and more for the franchise, which makes him an untouchable in my eyes. Sure, you could trade him for more cap space but who exactly are you depending on to put up the same numbers? Alex Kerfoot?
Sure, you still have Matthews and Marner terrorizing the opposition, but superstars still need help from quality forwards as Connor McDavid’s situation in Edmonton has shown since he entered the league. You can not win a Stanley Cup with just two superstar forwards (John Tavares makes three), you need a stacked lineup and good luck.