As star winger William Nylander and general manager Brad Treliving signed off on the most lucrative contract in Maple Leafs history, a big question loomed over both of them: What's next?
For Nylander, who committed for eight years beyond this one for $92 million (U.S.), the answers were easy: an expensive dinner for his teammates in relatively short order, and the continuation of his best season yet — on pace for 120 points. But more than that, there's the matter of being successful in the playoffs.
“It's huge as a player to feel that they are really investing in the core and betting on us,” said the 27-year-old Nylander. “I think that we feel the same way. That's ultimately why I wanted to stay for eight years. I wanted to give it a run to try to win the Cup.
“I know what this group is capable of.”
For Treliving, the answers are trickier. He has solidified the future by committing to the second of four members of the Core Four — all-star centre Auston Matthews signed a four-year, $53-million extension in August — but also has to deal with the here and now: the trade deadline is two months away; goaltender Ilya Samsonov is still working on his game with the AHL Marlies; T.J. Brodie, Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi aren't signed beyond this season; and the team is facing another salary-cap squeeze.
“There are guys that we certainly would like to look at extending,” said Treliving. “You have to balance that with where the cap is going to be at, and what they may want. We'll continue to monitor those things.”
The NHL cap is set to rise by $4.7 million next season, to $87.7 million, but the average annual value of Nylander's extension ($11.5 million) is a raise of $4,537,634. And that's on top of a $1,609,750 bump for Matthews to $13.25 million.
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While the cap is expected to continue to rise, as high as $93 million in a couple of years, the Leafs also have to tend to possible extensions for their other two core forwards: Mitch Marner and John Tavares, starting July 1.
“All we can do is tackle these things one at a time,” said Treliving. “When I got here, Auston was the priority. He and Willy were both going into their final years. We were able to get those done. Now you see what's next on the list.
“We're also not blind to the fact that there's other areas of our team that have to improve, and we'll continue to do that. So I don't have any bold statements or proclamations to make today other than: We got a really good player signed.”
The day belonged to Nylander, who told a story about how he considers Toronto home.
“The other day I was talking to a friend, and then I said, 'and then we go home.' And I was referring to Toronto, without even thinking about it,” said Nylander. “This is home.”
He was born in Calgary and followed his hockey-playing father Michael to Tampa, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Finland, Russia, New York, Washington, Finland again, Stockholm and Switzerland. He joined the Marlies at age 19 and has been based in Toronto ever since.
“It's nice that it's done,” said Nylander. “I know where I'm going to stay for the next eight years. It's a very special feeling. This has been home for me. This is the longest I've ever spent in one place in my entire life.”
The announcement came just before the team hit the ice for practice with the San Jose Sharks in town Tuesday.
“It gave guys a chance to acknowledge him, so that was a great moment,” said coach Sheldon Keefe. “It's always nice to be able to do those things because the players share in it as well. The players are excited. When a player of that magnitude makes a commitment to the organization, it helps the guys in the room feel good, too.”
Nylander hit career highs last year with 40 goals and 47 assists and 87 points. He's on pace to do even better with a chance to lead the team in points for the first time, an honour normally claimed by Marner. Nylander is on an 82-game pace for 46 goals and 120 points.
He led the team stretch at the end of practice, with stick taps all around.
“I don't know if I've met anyone that quite has the confidence like him, and I mean that in a very positive way,” said Tavares. “Sometimes guys aren't always having their best nights or are fighting the puck. And as the game wears on, you just don't feel like you have it. I think every time he goes out there he truly believes that the next play is going to be a great one, and he always wants the puck on the stick and always wants to be a difference maker.”
Of course, it had been one of the world's worst-kept secrets that a deal was close, and Nylander was the subject of some good ribbing during the just completed California road sweep.
“(Bertuzzi) passed me the puck for my last two goals and was like, 'You're welcome,' ” said Nylander.
“We had a lot of fun with it,” added Tavares. “It was a good way to push it over the line. Definitely a lot of fun to give it to him a little bit. Obviously it's a great day for him.”
Veteran forward Ryan Reaves, in his first year with the Leafs, also chimed in: “I've seen a lot of big names sign and this is well-deserved. He's a huge part of this team, and I can't wait for the meal he takes the boys out for.”
Nylander numbers
- 14th on Leafs all-time points list with 484 and will probably chase down Tomas Kaberle (520) and Rick Vaive (537) this season.
- 15th in goals (198), closing in on Charlie Conacher (200), Syl Apps (201) and Lanny McDonald (219).
- 17th in assists (286). Needs 45 more to break into the top 10, leapfrogging Frank Mahovlich (301), Ian Turnbull (302), Ron Ellis (305), Norm Ullman (308), Bob Pulford (312), Doug Gilmour (321) and Ted Kennedy (330).
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