Toronto Maple Leafs superstar William Nylander remained humble after eclipsing the 40-goal mark for the third consecutive season during Tuesday night's rout of the Philadelphia Flyers.
" I mean, just trying to do what I'm paid to do. That it"William Nylander
William Nylander found the back of the net twice on Tuesday for the Maple Leafs, with his second of the night being his 40th on the season.
Nylander's 2024-25 campaign thus far has been nothing short of spectacular. He currently sits second in the league in goals, trailing only Oilers superstar Leon Draisitil, has 77 points on the season, and perhaps most importantly, has suited up in all 72 of the teams games thus far this season. If he can stay healthy the remainder of the season, it would be his third consecutive season of playing all 82 games -- a truly remarkable and impressive feat.
This season marked the first season of Nylander's historic eight-year, $92M contract extension he inked with the club in January of last year. The deal is the largest in club history in total value, carries an AAV of $11.5M, and has a full no trade clause attached to it. All things considered, there was certaintly some reason for worry coming into the season, but the Maple Leafs winger has showed there was no need for any of it.
William Nylander: Simply the Best
Similarly to the rest of the "Core Four", Nylander will have to continue his dominant play when it really matters -- come playoff time. All things considered though, Nylander has likely been the most consistent in the playoffs of the core four. In 54 career playoff games, the Swede has 20 goals and 23 assists for 44 total points to go along with a +1 rating. Despite missing the first three games of last years seven-game first round thriller against the Bruins, the Leafs superstar still finished that series with three goals.
Nylander's $11.5M annual cap hit could be a comparable to what upcoming UFA Mitch Marner could be getting this offseason. Although, with the salary cap rising each of the next three seasons, it's hard to predict what type of outcome that will have on free agents deals the next few years.
The Maple Leafs are in the midst of fighting for top spot in the Atlantic division and winning the division this season would be huge. Outside of the 1930's, the Leafs have only won their division twice, with one of those division titles coming in the 2020-21 season where divisions were realigned due to Covid-19.