Nylander not signing an extension before training camp will be disastrous for he and the Leafs

Contract years can be a nuisance and a distraction for both player and team. Usually, long l-term deals are hammered before the season begins. However, there are some instances where the player - or team - might want to wait things out and see where the cards fall.

William Nylander already attempted this once, albeit in a different situation. When he was an RFA in the summer of 2018, he remained unsigned heading into the season and was adamant about having his contract demands met. The team and player had until the December 1st deadline to get a deal done if Nylander wanted to be eligible to play the rest of the season.

As the deadline was nearing, hours turning into mere minutes and Nylander and the Leafs agreed to his current 6-year deal, worth $45 million. Even though he was skating in Sweden and Austria, Nylander came back rusty and ended the season with just 7 goals and 27 points in 54 games. Since then, he has put up 122 goals and 268 points in 282 games and has put himself in a very enviable position to nab a $9M-$10M deal.

Now, while the situation is a little different since he is still signed for one more season, he is also coming off his best year to date with 40 goals and 87 points. However, there are a lot of headaches and issues with being in the limelight for the wrong reasons in Toronto.


Nylander's extension has taken the city by storm and when the media in Toronto gets ahold of a story or an angle, they run with it and run it into the ground. With Nylander holding off on an extension, it has also put a hold on Auston Matthews' very own extension. There is some belief that he won't agree to terms before Nylander. They are both in line for raises and of course both represent key pieces of the core.

Nylander has seen his name in the media all throughout the summer, the questions are never-ending, the articles are increasing in number the closer the season gets and the rumour mill never stops churning. There's a reason why long-term extensions are done before the season starts and that's generally because it becomes a massive distraction.

The majority of the line of questioning he'll face during training camp will revolve around his contract and ongoing negotiations. If he doesn't do well and performs similarly to his 2018-19 season, the media will hound him. Every goal-drought, every point-less effort, every costly turnover or gaffe will be magnified and turned into an angle of how it's impacting his contract value. Questions will then be directed towards other people like Brad Treliving, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares and they certainly don't want to talk about someone else's situation.

The harsh reality is that it will cause a lot more issues the longer it drags on. Nylander is just doing what he thinks is best for him, but when you've been offered the moon and you, in turn, request for the stars as well, sometimes that can come back and bite you - especially in a very critical juncture of your career. This is likely to be Nylander's last big contract, at 27 years of age. So he wants to get this one right. Unfortunately, this could end up being a disaster for both sides if this drags into camp, or into the season.