Can the Toronto Maple Leafs Star Winger Crack the 100-Point Plateau Next Season?
William Nylander is looking to bust out a new career high with the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs already have one winger who flirts with 100 points on an annual basis, but could they have a second?
Coming off a 98 point regular season and a dominant, although short, playoff effort in the first round against the Boston Bruins, is 2024-25 the season where the Toronto Maple Leafs star winger William Nylander hits the 100 point plateau for the first time in his career?
Nylander's start to last season couldn't have gone much better.
He started the campaign on a 17-game point streak, a Maple Leafs franchise record, in which he recorded 12 goals and 15 assists during that stretch, including an overtime winner against the Minnesota Wild in his home land of Sweden during the NHL Global Series in November.
Can the Toronto Maple Leafs Star Winger Crack the 100-Point Plateau Next Season?
This impressive start to the season came during a contract year for the Maple Leafs star winger as he was set to become a free agent at the end of season. Although, Nylander's impressive play allowed him to re-sign with Toronto just a week into the New Year, allowing him to play the remainder of the season without the thought or stress of contract dealings in the offseason.
Nylander penned an eight-year, $92M deal for an annual average value of $11.5M on January 8th of this year. The $92M contract was the largest total value deal in Maple Leafs franchise history. The deal begins this season and includes a full no-trade clause.
Nylander was very vocal about his desire to stay in Toronto prior to signing his contract extension. His previous deal, signed in December of 2018 after a two month stalemate with the front office, was for six-years, $41.4M ($6.9M AAV).
As the season wore on, the 27-year-old's play slowed down compared to his torrid pace at the beginning of the season. After what looked like a lock for a 100-point season, the star winger ended the regular season with 98 points -- a new career high.
After his impressive regular season, all eyes shifted to the playoffs as another first round matchup with the Boston Bruins awaited.
In typical Toronto Maple Leafs fashion though, nothing is ever drama free. After suiting up in the final regular season game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nylander peculiarly ended up missing the first three games of the series with what we later found out was migraine issues.
After returning to the lineup in Game 4, the Swedish superstar went on to have a monster series, with two huge goals in Game 6 and the teams only goal in Game 7.
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Coming into this season with a shiny new contract and no stress of having to play in a contract year, is 2024-25 the season William Nylander hits the 100-point plateau for the first time in his career?