William Nylander close to signing new deal, set to become one of the top 6 highest paid players in the NHL according to insider

The Toronto Maple Leafs and William Nylander have continued to work away on a brand new contract. The two parties have managed to keep almost everything quiet until today when news has begun to leak that the two parties are close to a brand new deal. Today on the FAN590, Nick Kypreos, former NHLer turned NHL insider discussed what he has heard.

Are #LeafsForever and William Nylander close to making a deal? @RealKyper shares the latest on the Nylander contract talks with @jtbourne & @SamAMcKee.

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📻 https://t.co/tEtiRUWyip pic.twitter.com/LyCawfFBqK— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) January 2, 2024

Nylander currently sits 5th in NHL scoring tied with Connor McDavid, but an 11+ million dollar contract still seems absurd for a player who hasn't yet hit 100 points in his career. This deal would place Nylander behind just Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Artemi Panarin and Erik Karlsson in terms of pay and would tie him with good friend David Pastrnak.

This situation would once again put the Maple Leafs into a major cap issue for next year as the Leafs would be forced to fit both Auston Matthews and William Nylander's raises on their cap. The Leafs would also still have both John Tavares and Mitch Marner under contract for next year. This seems like a commitment to a core of players who have still yet to accomplish anything as a group and shows the Maple Leafs have learned nothing.