Collection of McKenzie tweets on the Toronto Maple Leafs – William Nylander situation
Bob McKenzie: “Lots of William Nylander buzz, rumours abound, so let’s try to get a sense of where things may be at and where they go and how quickly it does or doesn’t happen…
First off, as of this precise moment in time, I don’t believe there’s an agreement in place or an announcement is pending. I hate reporting that because one phone call at any time after I post this tweet could change everything. So, yeah, at the risk of this becoming dated…
It’s understandable the buzz and rumours and will pick up. We’re one week and one day away from the 5 p.m. ET Dec. 1 deadline. That alone ratchets it up. Mike Babcock’s comments yesterday were interpreted by some the deal is imminent. There was the $6.9M rumour tweet out there…
…and then the CBJ fan who got his pic taken with Kyle Dubas who suggested a 5 p.m. update is in the works, which I don’t believe is the case at all but see the earlier tweet on how quickly things can change/become dated…
Now that we’re close(r) to the end of the process, I really wonder how much more negotiating will actually take place. I get the feeling the Nylander camp has let TOR know in no uncertain terms where they stand and I’d bet vice versa is true as well…
Conventional wisdom is that the logjam here will be broken by a bridge deal and common sense suggests that’s the way to go. Two years if you’re Nylander; three years if you’re the Leafs. But I certainly don’t think the longer-term (six years) is out of the question at this point.”
Bob McKenzie: “For all the talk of a $6.9M AAV on a long-term deal, remember what @CapFriendly and we were talking about last week. TOR could do a long-term deal for $7M across the board and have a much bigger cap hit this year and much lesser cap hit in the so-called “out years.”
The key thing for TOR, whether it’s a long-term deal or a shorter term deal, is to keep the actual salary relatively even over the course of the contract. That’s how they accrue the cap hit benefit. Big signing bonuses would negate the cap hit benefit, too.
So I have to go on @LeafsLunch1050 now, so I’ll finish with this: If this deal gets done, I could see it being a three-year deal that pays out $5M or slightly more than per year that over the term. If it’s a six-year deal, I could see it being high 6’s, like Pastrnak, maybe 7…
…if the Leafs are able to take full advantage of the CBA rule on cap hits/AAV’s for late-signing RFAs. For more information on that, go to @CapFriendly. They’ll explain it all.
In conclusion, maybe it gets done here in short order; maybe we’re back here a week today still talking about. That’s the reality of the current situation. People hate to hear that; they expect unequivocals. Doesn’t work that way.”
