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The heavy lifting never ends for Brad Treliving.
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In fact, you could say it’s just getting started for the Maple Leafs general manager.
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When Treliving took over as Kyle Dubas was fired in May, among his top priorities was signing star forwards Auston Matthews and William Nylander to new contracts. Treliving got Matthews out of the way in August and on Monday, stroked Nylander’s contract off his to-do list when he signed the winger to an eight-year, $92-million pact that kicks in next season. Neither negotiation got overly sticky.
Come July 1, captain John Tavares, who reiterated on Monday that he wants to stay in Toronto, and Mitch Marner will be eligible to sign a new contract. Marner’s next deal probably will fall somewhere between Nylander’s average annual value of $11.5 million and the AAV of $13.25 million that Matthews will receive when his contract starts next season.
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If you’re in the camp that thinks Nylander is going to be overpaid, keep in mind that his most productive days in the National Hockey League should be ahead of him, and also that the NHL salary cap will grow.
At the age of 27, Nylander is demonstrating on a nightly basis that he has the skill and the hockey IQ to be among the league’s best, and the next step for him will be to make it come together once the post-season starts. In 50 career Stanley Cup playoff games, Nylander has 40 points (17 goals and 23 assists), and while that number is admirable, the lack of success that the Leafs have had each spring has been the true reality check.
“I think it’s just the beginning for him and he will continually evolve and push, and that’s what this signifies,” Tavares said of Nylander’s contract. “We know the confidence and belief that he has himself and the skill set is tremendous. We’re all really happy he’s going to be here for a while.”
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With the Nylander contract off Treliving’s plate, in the next two months before the National Hockey League trade deadline on March 8, the GM has some work to do.
The Leafs, coming off an impressive three-game sweep in California last week, will be back at work on Tuesday night when the San Jose Sharks visit Scotiabank Arena. Guaranteed-win night in the NHL doesn’t exist, but the Sharks, last in the league and mired in an 11-game losing streak, won’t be much of a challenge for Toronto if the Leafs play like they did on the West Coast. The Leafs concluded the trip with a 4-1 win in San Jose on Saturday, propelled by Nylander’s fifth three-point game in 2023-24.
As much as Treliving is encouraged by the steps the Leafs have taken in recent games, the feeling remains that improvements to the roster have to happen.
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“I also think you have to be careful on trade deadline,” Treliving said on Monday. “We’ll continue to watch our team, but I’m not a big believer that you remake your team. You have to be careful with that. There’s tweaks you’d like to do, sure. We’ve got X amount of assets that we don’t necessarily want to be throwing out the door.”
No one is asking that Treliving, for example, remake the Leafs blue line. Adding to the defence corps, however, remains a priority and getting the Nylander contract done means that Treliving can now give trade possibilities his full attention. A depth forward or two wouldn’t hurt either, though for the time being, goaltending should not be on the front burner.
Looking a little further down the road, the Leafs will have Matthews, Nylander, Marner and Tavares each representing more than $10 million against the cap in 2024-25.
Treliving acknowledged the tests that will come in trying to complete a roster that is capable of winning the Cup.
“Certainly there’s always challenges,” Treliving said. “You’re going to have a cap that increases, but we’re also not blind to the fact that there’s other areas of our team, as we move forward, that you have to improve and we’ll continue to do that.
“I don’t have any bold statements or proclamations to make other than we got a really good player signed. Now we move on to the next piece.”
X: @koshtorontosun
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