The Maple Leafs’ next general manager will likely be the most important move Keith Pelley makes as president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. He admitted as much in his media availability Tuesday after announcing the firing of Brad Treliving the night before (via Kristen Shilton of ESPN).
Teetering on the edge between a more conservative, short-term retool and a blow-it-all-up rebuild, that decision will determine whether the foundational pieces still remaining from their post-lockout decade of darkness have a chance to end their careers in Toronto. If it’s the latter option with the goal of returning to consistent playoff contention within a year or two, star winger William Nylander told Jonas Siegel of The Athletic on Wednesday that “I still want to be here” if the Leafs’ head executive doesn’t opt for a full teardown.
Of course, any full rebuild would involve at least entertaining the idea of moving Nylander, the Leafs’ all-around offensive centerpiece who turns 30 next month. He holds all the cards with a no-movement clause for all six years remaining on his $11.5MM AAV contract, but if it comes to that, his desire to stay would be “a different story,” he told Siegel. He stopped short of admitting it was a foregone conclusion that he would be open to a move if Toronto opted to sell off the rest of their valuable pieces, but it’s clear it would be something he would consider.
The retool-or-rebuild decision comes down to whether the Leafs’ incoming GM believes there’s enough they can do to return to a playoff spot within the next two years. Auston Matthews will be an unrestricted free agent in 2028. They’re not in a long-term position where they can even think about risking losing him for nothing.
If they can do enough surgery on the rest of the roster, which is headed for a bottom-three finish in the East this year for the first time in a decade, to give them a bright enough long-term outlook to convince Matthews to stay, then it makes sense to keep rolling as long as they can given their bevy of other long-term commitments on the books. If not, the best time to sell off names like Matthews, Nylander, and Matthew Knies is this summer, when their cost-control levels are highest, and they have the most years of effective play remaining.
Nylander has clinched his fourth consecutive season above a point per game and leads the Leafs with 71 points despite missing over 15 games this season with various injuries. The second of two Mikko Rantanen trades last season, which netted the Hurricanes a pair of first-round picks, a pair of thirds, and a long-term top-nine fixture in Logan Stankoven, would be a direct comparable if they did opt to rebuild and look to move him.
Of course, the three-time 40-goal scorer’s remarkable consistency in production as of late makes him, as Pelley said Tuesday, an incredibly strong foundational piece to continue building around. That remains ownership’s preference, but he signaled they would be open to a more aggressive rebuilding approach if that’s what his hire of choice believes is the best path forward.
Possibly. But show me an NHL’er who has ever went to the media and proclaimed “This team is F’d, get me the heck outta here, the sooner the better!” They all play the good soldier routine to the media, meanwhile the $300 luncheon with their agent in Beverly Hills might tell a different story.
I think they will trade him to the Capitals for their HC and ex leaf assistant Spencer Carberry and a 1st. :)
Willander is one of the people responsible for the fall of the Leafs, he took everything that was on the table and even more. He is probably the one who hurt the salary cap the most. He has to leave and he is even the first at the end of the dive.
That’s just not true. When Nylander signed his second contract it was for $6.8M per year which was a bargain. Marner and Matthews both went over $10M on their second contracts while Tavares took $11M to come to Toronto. This wasn’t a Nylander problem. This was a Kyle Dubas didnt know how to negotiate problem.
Are you referring to Nylander or are you lost?
It’s cute that you’re claiming a guy who’s averaged 40 goals and 90 points a season the last five years — and whose PPG this year is a career high — is responsible for the Leafs’ sucking this year.
That’s nice but let’s see what the new gm wants to do first Willy
I think the next GM should see what the team looks like with a new coach first. They have good enough goaltending that the group up front doesn’t have to be perfect to go on another playoff run.
Berube is terrible at getting the most out of guys. His chip and chase system is outdated and he has no ability to think outside of the box. There are good players on that team who are underperforming because of the coach IMO.
If next season feels like a continuation of this one, then start the selloff and go scorched earth. But to throw in the towel now on 34, 88, and 23 would feel premature unless teams came offering absolute hauls of future foundational pieces.
Absolutely not!
Leafes have absolutely Leafed this from the start. They’ll probably botch whatever direction they take going forward.
Why would Nylander want to leave his cushy country club. He doesn’t have to check or work hard or anything,,,,,a pretty easy go of it.
Players and their careers are like jet planes, they go full power on takeoff, achieve cruise altitude, then pull the power back to ease up fuel consumption and wear and tear on the “equipment” for the rest of the trip. If they have to divert to get to better weather along the way, so be it.
Of course, there are always those few (too few) who continue to play aggressively the whole trip, with the throttles jammed to the firewall! Only those few are worth the millions of their contracts.
Always thought NHL contracts ought to be a base salary guarantee, with game stat bonuses accumulating according to game performance levels. You “cruise”, you lose…you generate game value, you get rewarded.
Ah, but the NHLPA would have a conniption fit and go absolutely apoplectic!!
I would argue that paying for stats is what got toronto here in the first place, not that you should pay more for it.
Great point. Every team should get rid of their guys with the best stats.
Classic tunnel vision response from doghockey.
Ok let’s go at it your way. They had Matthews, marner, nylander, and Tavares all at the same time for all those years. Why didnt they win a cup?
Grit, toughness, IQ and plenty of other attributes are required to win in the postseason but they do not show up on the stat sheets.
Why wouldn’t Nylander want to stay? He’s a floater, And their won’t be any pressure.