The Toronto Maple Leafs wrapped up their annual California road trip with a 4-1 win over the last place San Jose Sharks. During Sportsnet's "Saturday Headlines" intermission segment, Elliotte Friedman reported that we could see William Nylander and the Leafs agree to an extension as soon as Monday.
Following the game, all the talk was about those mid-game reports from Friedman with Nylander obviously being asked immediately and providing a cheeky response. Mitch Marner was asked for intel about the negotiations as well and whether the rumours are true. His response let everyone know just how quiet the Nylander camp and the team are keeping this one.
Clearly, Nylander is sticking to what he said during training camp in that he was not going to talk about it, not even with his own teammates, unless there was a deal to be made. With the Leafs returning home Sunday, it would not be surprising in the slightest to see an extension announced Sunday night or early Monday, just as Friedman had suggested.
Watching these negotiations from a distance, Marner is absolutely taking note as he will be due for an extension beginning July 1st this off-season. In 37 games so far this season, Marner has 15 goals and 40 points and is coming off of back-to-back 90+ point seasons. If Nylander comes in at $11.5M per season and Auston Matthews extension is $13.25M per season, it will be interesting to see just how much of a raise Marner gets from his $10.9M salary.
