Ducks winger's absurd arbitration ask indicates that Nylander actually might be a $10M winger

A week and a half ago, the Leafs and Ilya Samsonov went through their arbitration case, with the team submitting a $2.4M offer versus Samsonov's $4.9M ask - a $2.5M difference. Similarly, the Bruins are going through their own arbitration case with Jeremy Swayman, who has asked for $4.8M, with the Bruins' offer coming in at $2M - a $2.8M difference.

It's common for teams to come in low, with the player coming in high in their arbitration submissions, but the latest arb submission from Anaheim's Troy Terry is the highest salary request that we've seen yet this summer and in recent memory. In the Ducks/Terry arbitration case, the Ducks are offering $4.5M, while Terry is asking $8M, per Elliotte Friedman.

It's more likely than not that Terry's arbitration award lands in the $6M-$6.5M range, somewhere in the midway point between team offer and player ask. Terry's career best season came in 2021-22, when he scored 37 goals and added 30 assists for 67 points in 75 games. Last season, in 70 games, the 25-year-old scored 23 goals - a steep drop off from his previous season - and added 38 assists, totaling 61 points.

In Terry's defense, he might actually be worth $8M were he playing for a good team. As it stands, playing in Anaheim has his market value much lower than it would be if he played for a team like Boston, Toronto or Tampa Bay. Then again, you could also argue that on a better team, his role might be different than it is in a fairly thin forward group in Anaheim.

This all sort of just goes to show what agents are advising their clients what they believe they're worth. If Terry is asking for $8M, perhaps William Nylander requesting $10M+ from the Leafs isn't that outlandish. After all, with Terry's top season not even eclipsing the 70-point barrier, Nylander's back-to-back 80+ point seasons probably do make him closer to a $10M player on the open market - if you view Terry as an $8M player. Personally, I don't, but to each their own.