NHL Network: David Pagnotta on if the Toronto Maple Leafs are any closer to signing Auston Matthews and William Nylander to contract extensions.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Nick Gismondi: “How about the Maple Leafs? They’ve already made a number of moves to tweak their roster but what do you think the latest is on Auston Matthews and William Nylander’s contracts?”
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Pagnotta: “Ya, well look, first of all with that roster, they still need to make some moves there. They’ve got to free up some cap space in order to make everybody fit.
And luckily these two guys here, Auston Matthews and William Nylander, they’re under contract for this coming season. After that, they need’em.
I’ll tell you one thing, talking to a bunch of people around this situation, first of all, William Nylander is not close to an extension. He’s looking for upwards of $10 million a season on a full eight-year term and the Leafs are sitting around that $8.5 million mark. They’ve got some work to do to kind of bridge that gap.
The other thing I can tell you, I would not be surprised, I would be surprised, excuse me, if Auston Matthews puts pen to paper before Nylander does, at least for the time being.
It’s going to be a three-, four-, five-year contract for Auston Matthews in Toronto. He’s not going to exceed five years. That is pretty much locked in. Anywhere from $13 to just over $14 million on an AAV depending on what year comes with him.
But I would be very surprised if he locks in before William Nylander. It sounds like the Leafs are trying to focus on Nylander to get him done.
At the same time they want to free up additional cap space to make all of their little pieces fit. Are they going to buyout Matt Murray? T.J. Brodie‘s name is out there. They have some options.
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With respect to these two guys, there’s some work to be done. Expect Nylander to get going before Matthews’ camp locks into a deal.