Should the Toronto Maple Leafs Trade William Nylander?

The Toronto Maple Leafs need to sign William Nylander to a new contract, but GM Brad Treliving seems to be holding his ground. With the rumored asking price being $10 million or higher, it’s no wonder Treliving hasn’t re-signed Nylander yet.

If the the Toronto Maple Leafs meet Nylander’s demands, they’ll have four players making $10 million or more.

One could argue that Nylander is now a 40-goal scorer and deserves the money, but $10 million is a lot for a player who will spend most of his next contract over the age of 30.

I think a more realistic number would be $9 million. For Nylander, it is still a raise of $2.1 million over the $6.9 million he makes now, and for the Leafs its a more tenable number.

If the asking price doesn’t go down, the Leafs will have to decide between trading him before the season starts, or potentially letting him walk for nothing after the season.  I say they should trade him.

Ideally, the Leafs would get equal value for Nylander and use him to improve their blue-line. At worst he should bring in a first round pick and a prospect. However, if the Leafs can’t get a proper return for the talented winger, would it really hurt to let him walk?

I know that sounds crazy, but freeing up that much cap space could still help the team, and Nylander is likely better than anyone the team would pay to add at the trade deadline.

The Toronto Maple Leafs Also Need to Sign Auston Matthews

Like Nylander, Auston Matthews is entering the final year of his current contract. However, unlike Nylander, Matthews is expected to get what he wants.

The value of Matthews is much greater than Nylander, so most people are not concerned about Matthews re-signing. The belief is that Matthews is waiting for Nylander to sign first, but Nylander is waiting for Matthews to sign first.

If the time comes when the Leafs have to choose between only keeping one of Nylander or Matthews, the obvious answer is to keep Matthews and trade Nylander.

The Leafs could re-sign Matthews for $13 million, and most people won’t question it. In Toronto, Nylander will always be in the shadow of Matthews and Mitch Marner. No matter what Nylander does with the Leafs, he’ll never be number one. If the Leafs trade Nylander, it could allow him to go to a team where he will be the top guy.

The Toronto Maple Leafs play their first regular season game in 50 days on October 11th against the Montreal Canadiens. The ideal window for re-signing Nylander and Matthews is closing. Leafs GM Treliving might have to trade Nylander if negotiations don’t move forward soon.