The Leafs had no choice but to pay William Nylander: Leafs Morning Take

It’s official: William Nylander will be a Toronto Maple Leaf for the foreseeable future.

On Monday, the 27-year-old inked an eight-year extension worth $92 million, a deal that was made official during the Monday edition of Leafs Morning Take. Chalk that up to things you love to see.

Brought to you by Charm Diamond Centres, we dissected the big news. What now? For a signing of this magnitude, in typical Toronto fashion, it felt like it was a split fanbase on social. Again, no one’s disputing that William Nylander isn’t a good hockey player. This is more about conceding once again to a star player and giving them exactly what they want. The Leafs never seem to win negotiations, and in the cap world, that’s not a good thing. Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how Brad Treliving insulates the Core Four moving forward. At this point, it’s become crystal clear that the intention is to double and triple down with the same nucleus still in act. Ultimately, we’ll find out if that’s the right decision in short order. At the end of the day, the previous administration laid the groundwork for all this to play out this way. Now, the focus shifts to Mitch Marner and John Tavares. That should be fun.

After that, presented by Door Dash, The Appetizer focused on Toronto’s 4-1 win in San Jose over the weekend. The Leafs swept California in convincing fashion and are playing with some real confidence right now. With the Atlantic Division being what it is, it’s imperative that they keep things going here.

At any rate, be sure to join Jay Rosehill and me for the Tuesday edition of Leafs Morning Take at 11 AM ET as the fallout continues from the Nylander news. Also, we’ll preview Tuesday night’s tilt with San Jose. Additionally, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan will drop by for a chat.