Report: Leafs and Nylander close on long-term deal

A lot of the talk in Toronto this season has been about Toronto Maple Leafs forward and pending unrestricted free agent William Nylander.

Today, NHL insider Nick Kypreos reported that sources have indicated to him that Nylander and the Leafs are close on a new 8 year deal that would pay Nylander $11.25 million per season.

Check it out:

"There's lot of talk about William Nylander. It's trending closer to the Leafs and Nylander getting a deal done, is what I hear. The general feeling from both sides is that they'd like to get it done before the NHL All-Star weekend."

"The other belief is that it will be a number that is over $11 million. $11.25 million is the one that is probably mentioned the most... times eight. So that would put him right with Pastrnak, behind Panarin at $11.6 on an AAV. I think there's an argument that that's the number and you either like it or you don't."

"The other thing you've got to consider is that if the Leafs can front-load this and turn it into a $12 or $13 million signing bonus, it's worth a heck of a lot more than $11.25. It creates greater value in real money. And in four or five years if the cap is up towards $100 or north of $100 million, $11.25 million for a 40 goal scorer, a 100 point guy is not crazy. I don't think a lot of people can make an argument that this is crazy."

- Nick Kypreos

Personally, I'd be wary of signing ANYONE to an eight year deal at that kind of money, but the reality is that if Nylander doesn't sign that deal in Toronto he's likely to sign it elsewhere this summer as a free agent. The other harsh reality is that the Leafs are already under the strain of some high priced contracts for their forwards, so I'm not sure it makes sense to sign a fourth forward to an $11+ million annual contract. The Leafs are truly in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' scenario.