On this episode of The Jesse Blake Sports Report, William Nylander is on the verge of signing an 8-year, 11+ million dollar contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Is this the right move for the long term success of the organization? And what does this mean for the rest of the roster moving forward?
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Recorded: January 4, 2024
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29 Comments
signing him? good.
signing him for $11.25M ? not so good.
Willy or marner to chi.
Trade him is more like it….
Is MN as good a player as Pasternak? IMO – if MN feels like he needs to be in that range, someone will give it to him as a UFA, and if I'm the Leafs I can't let that type of player go. This just means that the depth is gutted in 2024/25 season until JT's contract is up, and after that either JT takes an enormous haircut (50% or more off his current salary) or is not resigned. Next year will tough with essentially replacing Bertuzzi with a $1M reclamation project to make room for Willie's contract. And again – the Leafs will go exactly as far as AM/MM/WN can carry this team. I just don't see an alternative with MM/JT both have NMC's and MM having the same leverage that WN has in his UFA contract negotiation starting 7/1/2024.
EDIT: The thing that JB fails to mention – is that all the money that gets freed up also creates open roster spots. Unless the Leafs have prospects who are ready to step up into those roles they either are paying "market value" for UFA's or going dumpster diving on a reclamation projects. Guys like Gio & Lageson don't free up space because they're already making the minimum. Even Samsonov doesn't free up much space because you likely need a legit NHL goalie who will take a big chunk of SS's $3.5M.
I would be STUNNED if the Leafs made this deal with Nylander without a secret wink wink from Tavares that he is re-signing in 2025 on a cheap deal.
So if u choose between Nylander and tavares you choose the one that is 6 years older? Give him the money and try to survive cap one more year. Then you could give up tavares or sign him cheap.
Why would Marner get more than Willie? Willie shows up in the playoffs and scores goals. Goals are more valuable than assists. If Marner insists on more than $10 m, let him walk.
The leafs are lucky Mitch is having a down year – hopefully can use that to ensure he doesn’t get a penny more than willie (he’s worth less but let’s be real we know what Mitch will try for)
Next Steve Dangle POD ask how deep into the playoffs do the leafs have to go to make the Nylander signing understandable. Obviously winning the cup ends all conversations.
This was a much more level-headed take on Nylander's contract than Steve's take. Thank you, Jesse.
Leafs fan. I am a Willie fan. But he is worth about 10.5 and NO MORE. I want him to resign but 11 million….ARGH. he is having a great year but has been a consistant 70 pt player, not a consistant 100 pt player.
nylander deal should get done. of the big 4, he's the one thats shown the most consistent improvement year after year. if marner wants another double digit deal, let him walk imo
If they have 6 guys on ELCs it could work. Is Willie really worth 30% more than M Tkachuk?
Any day he most likely will be signed 99%
Willy will be traded. Trana cant afford 12 million+ and they need money for a top goalie and d men. Buh bye Willy.
4:30 absolutely not, clearly. But I guess we’ll see fr come April
I'll say it this way: if I have a player like Nylander, who's playing on an absolutely elite level (115-point pace, back-to-back 40-goal seasons, solid playoff performer), I look at the number I have in my mind for him & the number he's asking for & if those 2 numbers (AAV-wise) are separated by less than an ELC is worth, I'd rather pay that little bit extra & keep him than risk losing him.
Imo, Nylander is a $10M+ guy, it seems like he's asking for $11M+. I see if I can get him to 11 flat, but 11 flat to 11,25 isn't that big a difference, so I'd pay him that. Marner potentially asking for over $12M?? I'll think about that.
Leafs should learn from the past GM's signings. Spending too much of the cap on a select number of players. Right now leafs spend 50% of their cap on five players. With not much to show for it , but one playoff round win in the last 15 years. They seem to be repeating the same mistake again.?
Covid really set the leafs back on savings with these star players. The right move is to retain the drafted players and not throw away anymore first round picks.
I like Mitch but I do not think he’s earned a raise he’s nowhere to be found when it counts unlike Matthews and nylander
Good
Other teams like the Bruins want the Leafs to pay Nylander over $11 Million – weakening the Leafs playoffs hopes. The Leafs core 4 – did win a Division Title 4 years ago. Since then they have declined in the regular season & never had a playoff run.😀
lol no one is paying a 34 year old Tavares in 2 years, who can barely skate now, 7 million a year. That’s the kind of delusional thinking leaf fans and management have and end up overpaying every player by 3 million. And money is coming off the books but who are they replacing all the free agents with? The cap is going up but 6 million will already be eaten up by the Nylander and Matthews new deals next year.
They have shown time and time again that they can’t win with the core 4 because they are all the same type of players. SOFT!!!! To pay even 3 (never mind 4) players that type of money is insane. Since they screwed up not trading Nylander in the summer (they should still trade him now) before having a career year was moronic. And he’s having a career year but the Leafs are still in the middle of the pack. So why do we have to sign him again? Trade him now and start balancing this team out with the cap flexibility they would have with the trade and having Tavares come off the books next season and start over while you still have Matthews and Marner in their prime. Marner is still the better player than Nylander. Willy is one dimensional and historically inconsistent. He’s a defensive liability and refuses to get down and dirty. At least Marner can kill penalties. TRADE WILLY NOW AND GET WHAT YOU CAN. Yes he’s a free agent but having a career season this year makes up for the extra value he would have had trading him last summer.
Thanks for the well thought out summary Jesse! Cheers
I'm still not convinced that Nylander will keep up this pace after the contract is signed. For the first 8 years in Toronto he was the model of inconsistency. Now in a contract year all of a sudden he's he's playing like the second coming of Wayne Gretzky. it's too late to move on from him now the Leafs have no choice but to sign him or else they will lose him for nothing next summer as a UFA
Nylander is worth 10x 8 years. 1.3 mil lower than Pasternak is logic according to me.
You can look at theJ. Huberdeau signing, 10.5×8. When he signed that contract he had had a 115 point season and a couple of really good seasons before that. Nylander is on fire this year but still dont have that many really good seasons behind him. Hence 10 feel like a good aav.
Look I like Tavares as much as the next guy but 7 or 8 mil on his next deal?!!!?! No WAY.
LETS GO!!!!!
As always Jesse’s take is spot on, calmly spoken, and well thought out. He’s easily becoming one of my favourite online personalities.