“We’ll give you $100 million Willie, that okay Willie?” “Too low. Way. Too. Low.”

As a leafs fan, I would say I respect the fact that he came out and proved himself when the whole fan base was against him for holding out. Instead of saying "screw this city, I'm going somewhere else" he came out and showed why he is worth it.

I’m a Wings fan, but I’ve always included him in the Matthews and Marner talk. Underrated player that doesn’t get the respect he deserves

Leafs fan. I’ve come to absolutely love Nylander. Guy’s become a superstar and he’s earned this type of money. The amount of cap allocated to our core does make me nervous, but the cap going up over the next few years does give me some faith so long as they can use it wisely. And hoping like hell Marner and Tavares get reasonable contracts because we can’t afford to keep doing this lol. But all in all, excited to have Willy as a Leaf until he’s 35. He’s an absolute joy to watch, and we’re lucky to have him in blue and white.

The biggest difference with Nylander this year is you notice him whenevers he’s on the ice. He’s been dominating the offence every game unlike previous years where he could go invisible for a 4 game stretch. Whether he keeps this up is unknown, but right now he is 1000% worth his contract.

since you asked, as a leafs fan I love this deal, Nylander has been the only leaf to consistanly show up in the playoffs in every round. and when Tavares deal comes of the books next year, I'd want them to tell him it 5mil per or lower, he will be 34 when that contract is in the talks, I'd hope the leafs offer a really low number to sell the point that they dont need him, want him, sure, but we have so many more players we need if he's staying it's at a huge home town discount so him staying dont come at the cost of anything else

I'm a Jets fan, and I agree with your take on that second goal. Blackwood on a good team would be putting up stellar numbers. So full marks to Nylander on playing to the whistle and scoring that beauty second goal. I really don't like the Leafs, but he is such a fun player to watch.

Nylander just gets better every season. He works extremely hard off the ice too. Well deserved contract. We still need a big top 2 defenseman, but now theres literally no money left. JT is great and all, but he's going to have to take a lot less if he wants to stay a leaf. He's declining a bit. As for Marner, he can hit the road. He is a great skilled forward, but he's small and can easily get pushed off his game.

It's not like they're going to have 5 guys make up 60% of the cap and someone is due a new contract soon. So you're telling me Marner is going to ask for 12 in July/next year, well this sucks

Overpaid. One of the perks of playing in TO is the publicity and sponsors. His dad meddling again has handcuffed this team. Im hoping willy can keep it going, but so far these numbers arent proven. He used other players with consistent numbers as him in a contract year. If Marner decides he wants to help the team win and not milk the team for all theyre worth, and they can resign JT at a 5x6m deal as a 3C, maybe theres still enough room to make this team competitive in the playoffs

Maybe Nylander really loves Toronto. If so, he should sign that rumored extension, immediately, especially if it includes a no-movement clause. However, if Nylander isn’t particularly attached to Toronto, Nylander would be crazy to not become a UFA. He would be hugely in-demand, in a relatively weak free agent class for forwards.

People can argue about dollars, years and AAV but at the end of the day this guy is just a ridiculous hockey player. One of the best wingers in the league.

love it! These guys are THE MOST talented players the Leafs have ever had.. every game is exciting. Im all in!

As a leaf fan, it had to be done. This is what it costs to keep excellent players on your team, and he’s worth it.

I love Willie. I'm ecstatic he's a Leaf for life. It's going to be tough for the next couple years but if the cap goes up $4-5 million per year for the next few years or even longer then eventually we'll be able to build a team around the core 5. Also... it's really nice to finally be able to watch our good young stars grow into superstars on the Maple Leafs. After so many years of draft shmaft and horrible trades... and then watching those players win Cups elsewhere... it's awesome to finally have some life-long Leafs. We could have the first 3 1000 point Leafs ever in their history on the roster right now... at the same time! if I could go back 10 years and tell myself that... I wouldn't believe me.

See him popping off on his contract year doesnt surprise me. Hes always had the talent but I'm wondering how he does moving forward, it looks like its worth it rn, but will he keep up this kind of production he can but will he keep the effort up, now that hes signed his big ticket deal?

I am a die hard leafs fan, I have been through all the ups and (so many) downs. I love the numbers Nylander is putting up this year but my honest thoughts are that contract year Nylander is always a great player, my fear is a year or two into that 8 year deal what kind of Nylander will we see, when he isn't playing for the extra $$$. Marner gets way too much crap for the consistency and positivity he brings to the team. I would rather see Nylander traded any day over Marner. Mitch needs to be a lifer here.

He just signed 😅 love your content man, you're my go-to for hockey news!!! Keep up the amazing work

The only thing I worry about with this contract is the way he plays his game compared to Tavares. Tavares contract still isn't too bad, because the way he plays hockey he can still put up points on his skill set even aging. Nylander's game relies heavily on his speed and ability to make space, which is going to fall off toward the tail end of that contract. We'll see how it ages.

As a leafs fan and the fact that Nylander is my favorite player in the howl NHL. it’s nice to see him get the recognition he deserves and a amazing contract, and I think this contract will boost his confidence and make him play even better,

Now management just has to build the right team around these guys. Make sure we can get a franchise goalie (Woll has been looking very promising so hopefully he can be that guy) and get a defense around them. I can bicker all I want about the contract being too expensive but at the end of the day this guy always shows up in the playoffs and im happy to have him stay.

pooling all your money into 4 forwards who have never once spoken about wanting to win a Stanley cup is a death sentence

IVE ALWAYS BEEN PRO NYLANDER easily our biggest guy in the playoffs since hes been on the team

Nylander totally deserves that he has been in top10 points almost all season longs. Best leaf.

Coach chippy said it best

As a leafs fan, I’m more of a fan of Mathews and marner, but Nylander always seems to put the puck in the net and that’s what wins games.

The "contract year" of all contract years. Atta boy Willie!!!

we should appreciate these players while we have them

Lifelong leaf fan here. I'd say that to be cup contender you need to build a team that can both GET you to the playoffs and WIN in the playoffs once you get there. I really like Nylander's game as of late. However, I believe his 11.5 mil contract will eat up too much cap space and not leave enough room to beef up the D-core so that the leafs are truly playoffs contenders. At the same time, it would be hard to justify trading away such an amazing player who is in the prime of his career the year after the leafs win their first playoff series. Like you said, he is their leading scorer. tough call

I'm a Leaf's fan and I love and hate this. I love Willy and I'm glad he's a Leaf for life but the cost (even though worth it) makes me nervous because how do you build a team around them, but with that being said I have faith in Tree and I really like he's outlook on hockey and what he thinks a team needs to be successful.

Remember his last contract sign was much lower than his team mates, in any other team he would be higher long time ago. He deserved this contract yesterday. But it says a lot about his character

As a longtime leafs fan who watches every game- I love Nylander, good for him. Moving forward: Johnny T takes a big pay cut on his re-sign, lil Marny gets the boot for a good goalie coach and a pack of skittles, fire keefer, and they’re 2025, 26, 27 three-peat Stanley cup champs

Small point of clarification: there was no Horachek ‘era’. Was always ownership.

As a man whose wife looks exactly like Danny DeVito (Twins era) I really think the money is well spent. The leafs are an exciting team to watch now and I totally agree with Johnny in that this team will get us to the playoffs, and even if we shid the bed in the first round, it’s a ton of fun watching our team in the cup race.

Best spent money, proved it over and over again. gratulations Nyllet!

Been following the Leafs since the early 90s. They need to keep the guy. He’s on another level this season.

lifetime leafs fan here...having his best season yes so he should get that pay...marner should get the same even though this season is not up to par for him but its always been the matthews and marner show thennn nylander...but i really hope the leafs keep all 3 together until they hopefully can reach a cut and yes JT should stay with a pay cut

I'm an absolute ride or die bleed blue leafs fan and i love the contract. i get to watch a good player play for my hockey team for basically his entire career? unprecedented. i do not care about the cap hit, im a fan i simply watch the games and an happy if they do good and sad if they do bad. stop worrying about the cap when its literally not your job to worry about it. remember when sports were fun? William Nylander is fun and he plays for my hockey team. ill leave the whining to podcasters and on air personalities.

As a leafs fan, I love it. I wish we did it earlier so that it was cheaper, but I have been defending this guy since the day he signed that 6.9 mil deal. Even a few years ago I would rather have traded Marner before the NTC kicked in (even though i also love Marner, how could you not as a leafs fan). Willy just has that clutch ability to make something happen, even if he isn't as defensively responsible as Marner. Not trying to make this a Willy vs. Marner debate, but it seems like eventually we will have to decide which one, but for now, getting Willy under contract is very important because how would we feel if we pass up on signing this deal, have another first round exit, and lose Willy for nothing to Free Agency. Even at 11.5, if he puts up huge numbers this year like he is on pace for, he will have tons of trade value, even if he has a NMC all the way through, if push comes to shove and it's not working, he will probably waive it to get out right? I just don't see a world where it's better to not sign this guy to an extension right now, while it doesn't affect our cap this year and he is playing so well. Love that he bet on himself and hit the jackpot. Go Leafs!

Having #88 for another 8 years is awesome. This guy is a steam train, he's warming up and running faster and faster.

Now that Willy got his money, watch him disappear for the next seven years. Now he can relax like he has for the first 4 years of his current contract. Huge mistake! Especially if there is a no-movement clause in that contract. The Leafs never learn. It's like Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results". The Leafs will never win a cup.

More and more often, players are absolutely stellar on year their on-going contract will expire.

I don't think this ends well for the Leafs. Who knows though, maybe BT used up his bad luck with Huberdeau.

Nylander is a monster. It would suck to lose him.

Matthews, Marner and Tavares all have NMC's. So unless someone is willing to waive it (which seems very unlikely), we'll be seeing them in Leaf sweaters for a while. Even if they could, who would you trade? You're not trading Auston, and I highly doubt that any team would take Tavares at the cap hit. So that leaves Mitch... I've been done with this core since the play-in loss to Columbus, and have been hoping to see at least one of them be moved since then. Maybe this is the time...

Hes having an 11.5 season for sure, but do we just forget every season prior? Idk man he's having a hell of a year but can he maintain this? Or is this performance based on the fact that its a contract season?

Not a Leaf hater, I’m a leaf FAN hater. My take is Nylander is definitely their most consistent player when it comes to regular season AND playoffs so he definitely deserves a big pay raise… I do think it’s a bit much tho. I think a more than fair deal would’ve been what Marner is making now. Having 4 players making THAT much money is a recipe for disaster & yes I know Tavares comes off the books in a year but the team has set a president that they will give their star players ANYTHING they want. One of the reasons Tampa has been so successful is because their star players have all taken less than what they’re worth & has allowed management to fill the holes around them. The Leafs are incapable of doing that. So when the stars don’t perform the Leafs lose…

Its really gonna come down to the defense, the depth, and the goaltending. Also, this puts the expectations on four guys and the four guys have to deliver. For me if a star player takes a hometown discount they get some pressure off them too. If they don't, they deserve everything thats coming as far as criticism. Every year they make it nowhere in the playoffs and they say now is the time for change, we gotta change the core four. And then what happens? Absolutely nothing. Might this eventually work if you keep running it back over and over and over? Maybe, anything can happen. Arizona can win the cup this year, why not. But the odds aren't great.

As a leafs fan it’s a gamble but I trust the process 😢

As a Leafs fan, I'm ecstatic. I love 88 and am really happy he's locked in. Ovi didn't win a cup till he was 33. At this point I'm more concerned about keeping elite talent than winning "NOW".

Love having Willy be a Leaf for another few years. He deserves the money, lets hope Tavares takes a discount moving forward and I can see this working. Say Tavares and Willy basically switch cap hits in future. As Leaf fan -- it's a bitter sweet thing.

hahaha just got this video on my home page as the contract broke lol

Johnny, I watched the Leafs win their last cup and every iteration good and bad since. I remember Harold Ballard. I remember the 77-78, 92-93, 93-94, 99-00, 01-02 Conference final runs. I remember the lean decades of the 80s and 2004 to 2015. I remember Phil Kessel leading the Leafs in points with 55. Leafs have their 3 of the core players locked up long term. No reason to think they don't resign Marner and Tavares. Does any remember what Kennedy, Keon, Bower, Sittler, McDonald, Palmateer, Gilmour, Clark, Potvin or Sundin, Roberts Belfour made in salary? Exactly.

Got the notification of $92 Million over 8 years as I was watching this. 11.5 is right on the nose.

They’re apparently closing the deal. 8x11.5. Idk how I feel about it.

The Leafs have about as much chance as winning the Stanley cup with the team they have as I do of winning the Lotto max Jackpot on any given draw . The more you rely on a small group of players , the less chances I feel you have of winning it all in the NHL and history has proven this to be . A solid defense in most sports is what it takes to win championships and until Canadian teams can balance offence and defense properly , don't expect the Stanly cup to come North anytime soon .

Leafs fan.. him and matthews are perhaps our most likeable players, and they’re fucking awesome hockey players. Very happy with this, would have been sad if we lost him. Tavares and Marner are great players but I believe things will change a lot with them (I believe JT will take a huge discount) and Marner either walks or gets traded (freeing up a lot of cap)

Great move locking up our superstar before he hits the market and other teams drooling to get him have no shot now. He always wanted to be a Leaf though so that was never in doubt. Team is shaping up nice now all they have to do is get a couple d men via deadline or trade route perhaps for this playoff run LETS GO!!! AND as you said leafs have to figure out the winning part in the playoffs but now pretty much guaranteeing we make it each year as we have done for plenty of years now is an excellent place to be at and sooner or later Leafs will figure out the post season too and win the damn thing and you do it with superstars which the Leafs have plenty of locked up now.

Marner and Tavares are off deals same year so in theory whatever bump mitchy gets will come from the cut johnny takes. i'm no expert but i could see mitch coming in around 12m and Tavares resigning around 6.5m-7m, which without counting a cap increase would be a net cap space gain of a few million (i'm not good at math)

I think this is great for Leafs. Matthews and Nylander are their best players. Nylander has shown that he produces no matter who he plays with, and has been consistently getting better. Yeah next year (2025) will be a big cap crunch for the Leafs, but after that a lot of money will come of the books, and the cap will have gone up and it looks like it will keep going up throughout Nylanders contract. I’d take Nylander over Marner, and Tavares is getting older and producing less so his salary will definitely drop for his next contract.

Help me out here. have any of the 8-year contracts been successful for any team?

Does anyone remember when Wayne Gretzky signed the big million dollar contract... Wow has contracts changed eh!! And no one.. except Ovi... will touch his numbers.

Its time for Toronto to get their act together and compete hard for a Stanley Cup.

It's official. Nyander signed for 8x11.5. As a Leafs fan, of course I'm happy he's signed but not with the AAV. I was thinking 10.5 before the season but knew that was next to impossible after his start and current production. Between playing hardball and keeping Nylander happy, I suppose the latter was the better choice but time has told us over and over that we can't win it all with half the cap space tied up in the core 4. We'll have to bite the bullet for one more season and then deal with defence and goaltending once Tavares comes off the books. Just feels like we're spinning our wheels by doing the same thing over and over and not getting anywhere.

Being a leaf fan, I personally think that Brad Terliving should have sign him 11 million dollars for five years instead of eight, the reason why five years is because he would be thirty three years old when that contract would expire, now when his contract is up he will be 35 and out of his prime. Over all I'm happy to see him Re-sign with Toronto but Mitch Marner can't be expecting a pay raise because the leafs are completely full on cap space, hopefully he will take a team friendly deal. John Tavares deal is very expensive but when his contract is up he will still sign because he now is living in Toronto, but I think he will sign a 3-4 year 3-5 million dollar contract. Overall I am very excited to watch William Nylander play for the leafs for eight more years!

When Foligno came he said "lets go win a cup"

As a leafs fan, I will say I am proud of Willy for proving himself worth the money he thought he was worth. Don’t hate the signing. However, the cap is the cap, and you could get 2 really good players with that money, especially for a market that is a more attractive free agency destination for a good number of guys. I also feel like the Leafs could use a big name top pairing Dman, so I saw this situation as an opportunity to acquire that, especially with his value at an all time high. Than again, I’m not unhappy with the signing. Just hope he plays up to the contract and that this season isn’t distinctly his best, when all is said and done.

The tape is only for the "no open cap on your stick". He uses small tape to not break the rule

Let's go Willy! Willy Styles is back, and he's still a Toronto Maple Leaf!

salary went up

Honestly. Keeping nylander is probably the best thing to do for the leafs. Hears hoping that tavares takes less on the cap hit if he resigns

Leafs fan here. I love Nylander, and he earned that paycheck. BUT. The Leafs paying out over 60% of their cap to 34, 16, 88, 91 and 44 is not a cup winning strategy. The leafs have young players who make big money and seem to not care about winning a cup. They're content making the playoffs, earning the pay check and hitting the golf course asap.

You should talk about the jets and how they are number 1 in the league.

As a Leafs fan i have mixed feelings. Im stoked to have him around for another 8 years but i just dont know how we get a stud D or G with how tight our cap hit is. I suppose with the cap going up and with the tavares contract coming to an end soon, Treliving has some options. We will see how it all turns out.

Leaf Fan: this is awesome! A non-Canadian player who wants to play in Canada and loves it in TO. Fair value for a great player imo. So glad he is locked up for 8 more years!

I'm mixed. Nylander is proving to be a great player to have on the team, but salary cap space doesn't grow on trees. I feel as though the Leafs will need a more rounded roster in order to have a real chance of winning the Cup.

I’m happy with it, he is a franchise player with a good attitude and is an absolute gamer. Lock him in and give him the bag

I actually don't mind this if it means they have to let Tavares walk next year, or have him take a big pay cut to stay

He’s signed it now and it’s sad that this team don’t care about winning.. just whoever gets paid more. They won’t win a cup with this core 4

Devoted and rationale leafs fan: At the end of the day a great player who is so fun to watch is staying in Toronto for 8 more years. The frustrating part about this whole situation not just with Willy, but with Matthews and soon to be Marner is there determination on maximizing the bag. How are we going to compete with the other power houses when their best players take a discount to have a strong chance on fielding a competitive team. I think leafs management have put together good teams considering the cap scenarios but clearly never enough to go the extra mile. It is a double edge sword as we are witnessing history with the players we are watching but at the same time know deep inside that a poor precedent has been set with the money making culture that will make this teams chances of breaking the drought with this group slimmer by the year. I only hope that one day we can have star players willing to take less for the benefit of the team.

As a leafs fan I can’t believe they sigh him let’s go willy

As a leafs fan obviously my opinion matters most 😂: I love Nylander and am so glad he’s signing with the leafs long term he’s probably our best playoff player and if he can stay like he is this year or last year it’s an ok deal we can stomach. Leafs didn’t really have a choice either pay him his money or let him go 11.5 is hefty I’d rather 10-10.5 but I’d rather pay him 1m more than he’s worth than lose him for nothing

If he hit UFA, he would not be getting this money. Anything over $10M is an overpayment. This signing will probably force Marner to walk into UFA (why would he take a team discount if Matthews and Nylander didn’t) losing him for nothing. Nylander also reeks of a player who will regress as soon as he gets paid. I do hope I am wrong, because paying a +30 year old that time of money is a risk in itself.

Legit just got a notification it’s officially done

Nylander's demand's will be met, whether it be here or elsewhere. The media and every ex-player with channel go gaga over Mathews (and they should) but largely they have been very fickle about Nylander. Everyone wanted him out after the 2nd round playoff exit. Why aren't they going nuts about William's 54pts which leads the Team? He also leads with 3gwg! He is perhaps the Team's best on the PK and with his speed/skill he's always a threat to score. Currently he leads the Team with 2shg. Mathews doesn't kill penalties...he is a magnificent goal scorer who is blessed with a great center who finds him with impossible passes. The ball is definitely in Nylander's court. He can test Toronto's appetite to pay what he's worth, take something less to stay in Toronto or hit pay dirt as a free agent.

Bold of you to assume I’d be awake Monday morning

as a leafs fan, i don't mind the deal since several contracts will come off the book in the next year. Tavares will sign for alot less for example. The money might not be available now after signing Willie, but it will soon be, and then they can afford to get D

Signed !!!! 8-11.5 =92 milly for free Willy.

Those here commenting that the Leafs will now have to move Marner, all seem to forget that When Marners contract is up so is John Tavaras. I also see some saying Marner will have to take less, well he wont, it will be John who takes less. The odd man out is the captain himself.

Not a Leaf fan, but as a Canucks fan, I was in favour of Nylander over Virtanen the entire time and thought that the pick was a reach for size and "tools" over Hocky IQ/skill(mind you, there was no way I would've expected Virtanen to blow himself up and be a complete bust, but I've always preferred more hockey IQ than just a guy with size and a mind that lags way behind the physical tools. Tends IMO to lead to guys who're more likely to be 3rd liners than someone you can count on to adapt well).

He does remind me a little of Kessel. I miss that magnificent goal scoring hotdog eating machine.

I mean good for Nylander for getting the bag, he's definitely earned it. But boy will it be fun to see the Leafs crash and burn once again in April with this roster. To counter the superstars they have too many no-names or small time players filling up their lower lines, and their goalie situation is once again arguably one of the worst ones in the entire league.

This effectively means the Leafs can only keep one of Tavares or Marner. But one thing is for sure: Tavares will likely get $6-7M AAV on his next contract; Marner remains the same

Nylander has been one of the best Leafs in the playoffs year after year. I'm excited about this contract and I'm excited to see what happens in the spring

You can alot of good draft picks for this guy. Offense is not a Toronto problem it's defense they need help with.

Depth is the issue in playoffs, and Leafs cannot get decent down roster players because four players eat half the cap!

In isolation he has earned it. But cap constraints and all…. They’re in tough.

As much as i love the Leafs, I think that the only problem with the core 4 is that JT is being paid too much and that they should try to offload him in order to acquire some defensive player(s). The leafs have maybe figured out their goaltending if woll comes back in decent shape and with jones being insane right now, and the only thing they are really lacking right now is their defence. (Yes I know JT has a no movement clause, so either they let him walk or get him to wave his nmc).

Still only worth about 8 on a cup winning team 11.5 on a team that cares more about merch sales for sure

Well if Willy can keep a 100pts season for the next 5 years I’m okay with it. And out of the 4 Willy has been the constant player in the playoffs. So if he keep on improving or stay at this level he is worth it.