Lamoriello mum on Leafs intentions with Nylander's entry-level contract

BOCA RATON, Fla. - Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello would neither confirm nor deny the team's plans for William Nylander. But it appears increasingly likely that the Leafs will exercise the first year of the 19-year-old's entry-level contract sometime soon.

Nylander was expected to play his ninth NHL game on Tuesday night against Tampa. His entry-level contract would kick in once he plays 10 games, an important consideration in today's salary cap world.

Under that scenario, Nylander would be due his second NHL contract in the summer of 2018.

"First of all, whatever decision we make we're going to make that's in the best interest in the Toronto Maple Leafs and also in the best interest of a player's development," Lamoriello said from the GM meetings. "The decision we make will be made for those reasons."

While Lamoriello was mum, Leafs head coach Mike Babcock was under the impression that Nylander would be with the Leafs for the remainder of the season, thereby passing the 10-game plateau.

"To me the idea was to bring him up to keep him up," Babcock told reporters in Toronto on Tuesday morning.

Capable rookies earning entry-level money have become increasingly important in today's NHL. They offer significant value to clubs because they cost little towards the cap while providing impactful performance on the ice.

The Lightning's 22-year-old Nikita Kucherov has been amongst Tampa's best players in recent years with a measly cap hit of only $711,666. Kucherov is due for a big raise once he hits restricted free agency this summer.

Lamoriello, while declining to divulge into the team's thought process, did say it would weigh the cap considerations in making such a decision.

"I think that's our responsibility to do that," he said.

The Leafs could argue that burning a year of Nylander's contract now staggers his second NHL deal with that of some of the team's other talented young players. Nylander, for example, would be due his second NHL contract two summers from now rather than in the summer of 2019 when Mitch Marner, the team's first round pick last summer, could be due his next deal and a likely raise.

That could create some flexibility under the cap down the line.

Nylander has been mostly quiet offensively so far and the Leafs could use that to their advantage by starting his entry-level contract now. The fewer numbers he puts up in the early days of his NHL career the smaller his second contract is likely to be.

The Leafs, conversely, are burning one year of a potentially valuable rookie deal for a last-place season. By abstaining from exercising the first year of that contract now — doing so instead next season — the club could get one more season of Nylander, a potential impact player, at a bargain price (less than $900,000) at a time when the club intends to be more competitive.

Barring an apparent reversal in course, it doesn't appear that will be the case.

"We're certainly going to make whatever decisions that we feel are right when that time comes," Lamoriello said.