William Nylander signed an eight-year, $92 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. It has an average annual value of $11.5 million and begins next season.
The 27-year-old forward is playing the final season of a six-year, $41.4 million contract (average annual value $6.9 million) he signed Dec. 1, 2018, and was eligible to become an unrestricted free agent when it expired. He said during the NHL European Player Media Tour he wanted to remain with the Maple Leafs long term and wasn’t concerned with beginning the final season of his current contract without signing a new deal.
“For me, the contract, obviously, I want it to work where I can stay there and be there,” Nylander said Aug. 23. “There’s no other place I want to play, but I still have one more year left. I don’t understand why there’s such a big rush to do something right now. I still have one more year left.”
Nylander had 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) during a Maple Leafs-record 17-game point streak to begin this season, a mark previously shared by Frank Mahovlich 1961-62), Lanny McDonald (1976-77) and John Anderson (1982-83). The run reached 17 games when he scored in overtime to help the Maple Leafs defeat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 at Avicii Arena in Stockholm on Nov. 19 to complete the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden presented by Fastenal.
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