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Johnston: Inside Maple Leafs’ 7-month negotiation to extend William Nylander

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10 months ago

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TORONTO — The directive from William Nylander as negotiations got started with the Toronto Maple Leafs on an extension entering last summer was pretty simple: prioritize an eight-year contract that would allow him to extend his stay with the organization for the maximum time allowable under the NHL’s collective-bargaining agreement.

“This is home,” he said Monday after putting pen to paper on a contract that was nearly seven months in the making.

Now, Nylander didn’t do the team any favors while securing a $92 million, eight-year deal that is now the largest in total value handed out in Leafs history.

And why should he have?

As an elite talent with prime years still ahead of him who had the ability to walk out the door on July 1, he and his camp were in possession of all the leverage from the outset. They could take a hard stance in negotiations with a high degree of confidence that he’d be able to fetch something north of $11 million on the free-agent market this summer.

Plus, there was the fact that his last contract negotiation went anything but smoothly.

Nylander essentially sacrificed a third of the 2018-19 season due to a bitter round of talks with former general manager Kyle Dubas that ended with him signing a six-year deal carrying an average annual value a shade under $7 million — a contract that proved to be far more team-friendly than those signed by peers Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in the 20 months that followed.

By the time last offseason arrived, Nylander could point to a resume that had seen him boost his goal, assist and point totals in two successive regular seasons while producing at a level commensurate with (or better than) his higher-paid teammates across the previous three or four playoff campaigns, particularly when measured by goals or points per hour in the most important games the Leafs played.

Still, when new general manager Brad Treliving and Nylander’s agent, Lewis Gross of Sports Professional Management Inc., met in Nashville to discuss their respective positions during the June draft, there was a sizable gap between how the sides saw the world when it came to Nylander’s next contract.

The Leafs were eyeing a deal in the 8s — something in the range of the eight-year, $8.5 million AAV contract Filip Forsberg signed with the Predators in 2022. Given the similar levels of production in Forsberg’s platform season and Nylander’s 2022-23 campaign, it was not an unreasonable comparison to draw at the time. But the Nylander camp pegged his value at being in the NHL’s upper-most tax bracket and much closer to the deal he ultimately ended up signing.

With the gap so wide and Treliving being thrown head-first into free agency after replacing Dubas, not to mention a negotiation with Matthews on an extension that wasn’t wrapped up until late August, the Nylander talks went quiet over the summer. That was the only period where the 27-year-old winger experienced some doubts about whether he’d get the chance to be a lifetime Leaf.

“You have no clue what’s going on,” Nylander said. “In the summer, I didn’t know what was happening with the new management, what their thoughts were.”

Any concerns were eased by the time he returned to Toronto for training camp.

That offered the opportunity for face-to-face conversations and the chance for both sides to reinforce a shared objective: finding a way for Nylander to stay with the team he’d been picked by at No. 8 in the 2014 draft while allowing the Leafs to hang on to a core member of their franchise well into his 30s.

On the opening day of training camp, Treliving told reporters it was a “priority” to get Nylander signed. By the time the calendar had flipped to January, it was an imperative for the organization.

Remember that there was a degree of risk from both sides by entering the season with no extension in place. For Nylander, there was the possibility of injury, underperformance or simply a cold run of shooting luck weakening his bargaining position.

For the Leafs … well, it’s basically exactly what we’ve seen play out over the past three months.

Nylander has taken his game into the stratosphere. By far the team’s most consistent performer with points in 33 of 37 games played this season entering a Tuesday matchup with San Jose, Nylander found himself on pace for 47 goals and 120 points when signing his new contract.

That helps explain why he found himself securing an $11.5 million AAV surpassed by only four NHL players under contract for next season: Matthews ($13.25 million), the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6 million), the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid ($12.5 million) and the New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin ($11.6 million).

Nylander may not have favorable overall comparables to any of those players — or even some below them, like Boston’s David Pastrnak at $11.25 million — but his case certainly wasn’t hurt by the confirmation from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman at last month’s Board of Governors meeting that next year’s salary cap will take a significant jump for the first time since the pandemic, to $87.675 million.

That gave his agent the chance to hone in on the percentage of the 2024-25 salary cap he’d be taking up when making comparisons to other players. The 13.12 percent of cap Nylander’s deal ultimately landed at is actually behind where Panarin (14.29 percent), Pastrnak (13.64 percent) and even Marner (13.38 percent) were when they signed their current contracts.

Still, the Leafs had to stretch to the far reaches of their comfort zone before making Nylander one of the NHL’s highest-paid players. They ultimately determined there was no adequate way to repay his talent and production in a league where very few game-breakers make it to free agency, especially since the organization lacks the kind of assets needed to pull off a blockbuster trade.

Not only did they give Nylander a full no-movement clause and the big AAV, but they also agreed to limit his salary to just $1 million in Years 3, 4, 7 and 8 of the extension while jacking up the signing bonus payments — shielding him from the financial risk of a lockout when the current CBA expires in September 2026 and making the possibility of a late-stage buyout much less likely.

“Listen, it’s a big contract. It’s a lot of money,” said Treliving. “I don’t know if there was ever an ‘ah ha’ moment (in negotiations). You arm-wrestle. You go through it. But I don’t think there was ever a time where we felt we weren’t going to get to the finish line.”

They ended up making a massive commitment to get it over the line.

Before doing so, they’d at least had the chance to see Nylander play more than 600 games in a Leafs sweater and gained additional comfort after watching him follow a strong season in 2022-23 with an even bigger step in the first half of 2023-24.

As for Nylander, this ended exactly how he hoped it would. He tried to keep the daily flow of information to a minimum once the season started going and trusted his agent and Leafs management to work through the negotiations.

By the time he signed on the dotted line Monday morning, the realization dawned on him that it offered a path to spending his entire NHL career in Toronto.

“That was one of the things you’re thinking about going through the process. Eight years,” said Nylander. “I want to achieve something special and at that point, that would be the ultimate dream.”

(Top photo: Claus Andersen / Getty Images)

 

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Champions Trophy host Pakistan says it’s not been told India wants to play cricket games elsewhere

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1 day ago

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November 8, 2024

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LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.

“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”

Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.

The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.

Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.

“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”

Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all India games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid model for the tournament. Only months later Pakistan did travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.

Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.

“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”

The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.

“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”

Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.

“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.

___

AP cricket:

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Dabrowski, Routlife into WTA doubles final with win over Melichar-Martinez, Perez

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November 8, 2024

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.

Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.

The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.

The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.

Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.

Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Winger Tajon Buchanan back with Canada after recovering from broken leg

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November 8, 2024

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Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”

The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.

Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.

Canada Roster

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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