The Toronto Maple Leafs have been known recently for their different strategies to disregard and circumvent the NHL Salary Cap. Now that they've signed Auston Matthews to the highest cap hit in NHL history, they still have one important contractual negotiation to deal with: William Nylander's.
Unless Nylander willingly takes a massive discount on his incoming deal, the more time passes, the more unlikely it gets that Toronto renew his contract. With Toronto salary cap struggles and Stanley Cup objectives, nobody knows what strategy Brad Treliving and the Leafs could opt for.
Since Keller is signed at a $7.15M until 2028, that would've been a massive win for Toronto. They could retain the services of a point per game producer in return for Nylander, whom they cannot extend. Nylander had a career-best season in 2022-2023. The winger scored 40 goals and amassed 87 points in 82 games.
