Star winger William Nylander won’t be leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs anytime soon. The Leafs announced on Monday that Nylander inked a new eight-year extension that will keep him with the franchise through the 2031-32 NHL season.
Nylander’s deal is worth $92 million and comes with an average annual value of $11.5 million. It gives the player a full no-trade clause and includes $69 million in signing bonus money.
Nylander was previously set to hit the free agency after the 2023-24 campaign. Instead, he receives the biggest contract in franchise history in terms of total value. The previous record was held by captain John Tavares, who received a seven-year, $77 million contract in 2018. Center Auston Matthews still holds the record for average annual value thanks to the four-year, $53-million deal he signed last August.
“This has been home for me,” Nylander said after signing the deal. “This is the longest I’ve ever spent in one place in my entire life. It’s funny, the other day I was talking to a friend and I said, ‘And then we go home’ in referring to Toronto. Without even thinking about it, this was home.”
The Leafs drafted William Nylander eighth overall in the 2014 NHL draft. The Calgary, Alberta, born winger made his NHL debut in 2015–16 and has since established himself as one of the franchise’s cornerstones. During his nine years in the NHL, Nylander played 558 games, scoring 198 goals and dishing 286 assists for a total of 484 points.
