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There is never a lack of news when it comes to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and while there are a number of interesting storylines connecting the San Jose Sharks; and their opponents in home-and-home series, but right now the chatter is all William Nylander, all the time.
The Leafs finish off their three-game California western swing against the Sharks, the league’s worst record at 9-27-3, but that usually means that they will play their best hockey of the season and give Toronto a run for their money.
The game marks the return of former Sharks Noah Gregor and Martin Jones to Northern California. Gregor spent four seasons in San Jose before not receiving a qualifying offer last summer. Jones led the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, but after three subpar seasons was bought out in 2021.
The veteran netminder is making his fourth straight start, with the club appearing hesitant to play rookie Dennis Hildeby. It is possible that the Leafs might play the 22-year-old in the rematch in Toronto on Tuesday, but might be saving his debut when they play back-to-back home games next weekend.
As for Nylander, the rumors of an impending contract extension have percolated over the last couple weeks, with numbers in the range of $11 million to as much as $11.5 million per season on an eight-year deal. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman offered an interesting perspective on the rumors on the most recent “32 Thoughts” podcast.
The Leafs have been forced to come off their summer salary offers in the high 8’s to 9’s because of Nylander’s great half-season as a follow-up to his first 40-goal campaign. Toronto has moved off those numbers and offered more (reportedly around Christmas), Nylander has said wants to stay in Toronto, but Friedman thinks that there is still some hesitancy coming from Nylander’s camp (namely his father Michael) and that they might be pushing for more.
Leafs GM Brad Treliving wants to get the deal done prior to the March 8 trade deadline, so he has an idea of where the club stands and what moves can be made.
The situation is tenuous for Treliving and Toronto. They clearly want to get Nylander re-signed, but if there continues to be hesitancy, then this situation is playing out just like Johnny Gaudreau did in Calgary (with the same agent).
If the Leafs have pushed all their chips in and Nylander’s camp will still not agree, then they either have to consider him an own-rental and resign themselves that he will be leaving on July 1, or consider trading him before the deadline.
The reality is this, if the Leafs sign Nylander for $11 million, then starting next season they will have $53.65 million allocated towards five players (all who have no movement clauses) and would have four of the nine players in the league making $10.9 million or more.
It is highly unlikely that A) any of these players will waive that NMC to be traded elsewhere (especially John Tavares and Mitch Marner with one year remaining on their deals) and B) that anything will change in regards to Toronto’s playoff fortunes with less than 50% of their cap to fill out the other 18 players on the roster.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
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