Toronto Maple Leafs: Pressure firmly on Nylander to agree a deal

With the Toronto Maple Leafs set to begin their season on Wednesday night, the pressure shifts to William Nylander to get a new contract negotiated.

Throughout the negotiations between the Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander, it was insisted there was no rush to get a new deal agreed. Both sides were confident the contract situation would be resolved.

And yet here we are, just two days before the 2018-19 regular season begins, and there has still be no resolution. If those connected with the Leafs are honest, none of them imagined this scenario, especially with the team and player admitting they want to have a long-term association with each other.

In that respect, at least there is one positive in all of this. Nylander insister all along that he wanted a long-term deal, as opposed to a two-year bridge contract. As reported by the Toronto Star‘s Kevin McGran, the Leafs have now agreed to work towards such a deal.

However, even with this step, we are still left wondering when the two sides will actually agree to a new deal. Nylander is reportedly asking for $8 million per season, while the Leafs are offering closer to $6 million.

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If true, there is no denying $2 million is a major difference in the salary cap era, especially when considering the Leafs’ cap situation. The team wants to be as reasonable as possible, but have to consider other upcoming contract negotiations with the likes of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and Jake Gardiner.

This leads you to wonder how far Nylander is prepared to push this issue? With the Leafs’ season starting on Wednesday night, the reality is the pressure is now firmly shifting towards him and his agent.

As noted by Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, once the regular season begins, the 22-year-old will start to lose money. Using the Leafs’ annual offer of $6 million as his basis, Simmons calculates the young star will forfeit $32,258 for each day he doesn’t play.

For a week, this works out at $226,806. For a month, just under $1 million, and so on.

At some point, if the two sides cannot agree a deal, what path does the team take? Do they actually consider trading Nylander, if the gap cannot be closed?

Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has insisted no, when asked if he wants to trade Nylander right now. (The Carolina Hurricanes were reportedly among a number of teams to recently inquire about his availability.) This is no surprise, given how important the young player is to the team.

And this is where Nylander has to decide what his main priority is. Of course, as with any top level professional athlete, you want to earn as much money as possible, especially given how short a playing career can be.

However, the key part of the conversation between Dubas and the media is “right now”. There is nothing to suggest the Leafs will change their mind per se, but the longer the negotiations go on, the more likely it is for a trade to become at least some possibility.

As such, the 2014 eighth overall draft pick has to weigh up his earnings against staying in Toronto, with a team set to be a long-term contender. Does he remain stubborn in respect of what he believes he is worth, and risk ending up being traded to a franchise with less chance of being a realistic contender for the Stanley Cup?

We remain of the opinion that the Leafs and Nylander will resolve matters and get a deal agreed. Regardless, as of Wednesday, the pressure will be square on the shoulders of the player to get this issue resolved, when it starts hitting him in the pocket.

How do you believe this will all play out? At what point will Nylander agree a contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs? Do you see any realistic scenario where a trade will have to at least be considered? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.