As the contract situation between William Nylander and the Toronto Maple Leafs moves toward an eventual extension, one similarity that cannot be ignored is what happened a year ago between David Pastrnak and the Boston Bruins. What happened?
The process was a grueling one, with nine months of intense negotiations between the Bruins and Pastrnak’s camp, led by veteran CAA agent JP Barry, to close significant gaps, but an extension was ultimately announced. That was March 2nd, less than four months before the superstar winger’s return. He became an unrestricted free agent.
However, the biggest reason for the deal was that the player did not want to leave and the team was adamant that they would do everything in their power to sign him.
The same can be said about Nylander and the Leafs now. It is true that the two sides were far apart when talks began in June, but the gap is slowly but surely closing. And, as in the case of Pastrnak and the Bruins, an organization has negotiated in good faith, balancing the reality of keeping a competing roster together with a player who expressed a genuine desire to stay from the beginning. There is.
Another important parallel for Pastrnak here is that it is not something that people should take for granted, but that the dialogue continues. Yes, it was a big deal, but Nylander’s camp, led by agent Lewis Gross, and the Leafs’ front office, led by general manager Brad Treliving and stockholder Brandon Pridham, made it work. Despite where it all started, no matter how you look at it, negotiations have continued.
It’s not over yet. Both sides are keeping their mouths shut, but what I can tell you is that they are trying to crush this issue once and for all. I think they’re looking at a maximum 8-year term for up to $11 million or more per season. It remains to be seen how much more than $11 million.
“I’m hearing (the average annual value) is $11.25 million, which is $90 million (over eight years), but I think it’s going to be more than that,” TSN colleague Darren Dreger told TSN on Wednesday. spoke in overdrive.
Around this time a year ago, the Bruins and Pastrnak were finally hitting their stride, and reports began to surface that negotiations were close. However, it took until March 2nd for it to be completed. The structural work alone took a considerable amount of time.
So whether the Nylander expansion takes days or weeks to complete, there are many factors and work remains. As the great Bob McKenzie taught all of us in this business, nothing begins until it’s all over.
However, there appears to be positive momentum.
What would the process look like at this point? The common ground is not lost on Pastrnak’s representatives.
“Discussions started very early in the season, but at that point teams are focused on older comparable contracts and we as agents are trying to predict what the free agency market will be next July.” Barry said Wednesday. “This creates very different views of what an appropriate contract should be.
“In our situation, my client was playing so well that it became very clear that the first team comparison was no longer appropriate. He was basically taken out of that market. I played myself.
“By January, things were clearer and both sides agreed to work hard on a deal with the trade deadline as a real deadline. The upside is that we want to stay in Boston and they also That’s what we were hoping for. There were some tense talks, but ultimately the desire on both sides to reach an agreement drove momentum.”
Pastrnak ultimately signed an eight-year, $90 million contract, which represents an AAV of $11.25 million (13.47% of this season’s $83.5 million cap).
Again, let’s see if Nylander’s expansion falls within that range.
But the comparison doesn’t end there. Pastrnak’s second contract, signed in September 2017, was for six years and $40 million. Did you know that Nylander signed a second six-year, $45 million contract 15 months later in December 2018?
The two, both 27, are close friends who played together in Sweden’s Södertälje when they were teenagers.
The difference is that Pastrnak was quicker to rise to prominence among the NHL’s elite producers. He has 667 points in 628 NHL games, putting up big numbers almost immediately. Nylander scored 481 points in 557 games. Nylander’s breakthrough began with 80 points in 2021-22, and he had 40 goals and 87 points last season. He is on pace for a 2023-24 career season with 117 points. Did I mention that Pastrnak was on his way to a career-high 113-point season when he signed his contract extension last year?
William Nylander has never been an All-Star. Ranked 5th in league scoring rankings. He scored in 31 of 35 games. You can’t deny him now.
“There’s not much debate,” John Tavares said. https://t.co/5ZOzmIafRe
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) January 3, 2024
Nylander’s camp also believes that commissioner Gary Bettman’s confirmation at last month’s Seattle board meeting that the salary cap will increase by $4.2 million next season was encouraging to Nylander’s camp. They wanted a cap percentage on par with a player in Nylander’s ballpark, but with the cap going up, that would only help justify more than $11 million.
If next season’s cap is $87.7 million, an AAV of $11 million would be 12.5% of the cap, $11.25 million would be 12.8%, and $11.5 million would be 13.1% of the cap. That means he’s nowhere near the percentage Pastrnak is getting this season.
One big difference between the Pastrnak and Nylander situations has a huge impact on what the Leafs front office is dealing with, even though Nylander is one of the team’s three offensive stars. Pastrnak, on the other hand, is on an island in terms of the team’s offense. . Pastrnak currently leads the Bruins’ next leading scorer, captain Brad Marchand, by 17 points. Last season, Pastrnak was trailed by Marchand, the Bruins’ next leading scorer, by 46 points.
Yes, Nylander leads the Leafs with 51 points, but Toronto also has Auston Matthews on a 70-goal pace and Mitch Marner on an 89-goal pace.
Matthews, unsurprisingly, signed a four-year contract extension with an AAV of $13.25 million in August, but that contract doesn’t kick in until next season (at which point his cap hit will be 15.1 percent of $87.7 million). ). Marner has one year left on his $10.9 million contract next season. And, of course, captain John Tavares still has $11 million left on his contract next season.
Pastrnak is the Bruins’ only double-digit AAV.
But to be fair, the Bruins’ cap culture is the envy of many teams. And it’s worth pointing out that the defending Cup champion Golden Knights only have one player with a double-digit cap hit, $10 million Jack Eichel.
Every team’s build is different, and nearly every contender in the league is just at the cap.
It depends on how you split it up. The Leafs have been top heavy for a long time. That’s who they are. And it hasn’t reached the playoffs yet.
But if you’re the Leafs with Nylander, what else are you going to do? How do you replace him? They need to sign him and get creative cap again next summer. Any other path is meaningless.
(Photo: Mark Brinch/NHLI via Getty Images)
