As you may have heard, young William Nylander still has not signed his extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs. You may have also heard that the potential end CBA between the NHL and NHLPA is coming soon.

What do those two have to do with each other? Well, as Katie Strang at the Athletic outlined in her piece on the most significant issues that are likely to be negotiated for the new CBA, the NHL reportedly may want to further restrict the maximum length that a player can sign a contract. In fact, this was something the league apparently demanded during the last CBA’s negotiations too, before they settled on the current format.

Currently, a player that signs an extension with his current team can sign for a maximum of 8 years. If he signs with a new team, he can sign for a maximum of 7 years. The NHL is reportedly thinking of restricting that to 5 years — whether that’s a flat 5, or if there is a year added or removed depending on if the player signs with the same team or with a new team wasn’t said.

Listing to the radio from this morning, John Shannon reiterated the same thing: the owners might again ask for the max contract lengths to be further restricted.

I can feel a lockout in the air tonight, oh Lord

And I’ve been dreading that god damn moment for the last 5 years, oh Lord

Can you feel a lockout in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord!

Now I know you’re yelling at your monitor or phone, demanding that I ask the important question: how does this affect the Leafs? I’m glad you asked!

Short answer: I don’t really have a fucking clue.

Longer, guessier answer: if Nylander wants to sign a longer extension to get that financial security, he’s going to have to do it sooner rather than later. Ditto to guys like Matthews and Marner next year. I have no idea if that gives the players more leverage in negotiations, or if gives the leverage to the team.

One of the reasons why young stars seem to sign these max term deals more often these days is probably because it simply makes the most sense both for the player and the team. Player gets their long term financial security, team gets their young stars locked up long-term as well as having their long-term cap situation a bit more clear.

This is my long way of saying OH GOD JUST SIGN THE EXTENSION ALREADY GAWD! Continuing in my previous vein of Dubas trying to chase after Willy’s romping around the world, he has lately been doing some salsa lessons and/or training to fight as the Leafs’ next enforcer (those thighs tho).

#salsahips 💃🏼

A post shared by William Nylander (@williamnylander) on

ONTO THE LINKS!

In Case You Missed It!

It was actually a pretty busy day for us content-wise yesterday, considering the time of year. Here’s what we put out yesterday for those who missed it!

2018 CWHL Draft: Toronto Furies and Markham Thunder build for the future | by Annie and nafio

Where do Maple Leafs rank in the Sportsnet Top 100 players list | by Arvind

Back to Excited Hockey Podcast - Lightning and Bruins and Leafs, oh my! | by Fulemin, Arvind and a special guest!

Toronto Maple Leafs top 25 under 25: #5 Travis Dermott | by Hardev

Other Links!

Remembering when John Tavares was introduced to the hockey world | by the TLN staff

Stars & Stripes conversations: On Suter skipping, Zetterberg’s bleak future and Matthews’ contract | by Crag Custard at The Athletic

Projecting the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2018-19 Opening Night Forward Lines | by Alec Brownscombe

Don’t expect Max Pacioretty to be with Canadiens long-term | by Eric Engels at Sportsnet

Lastly, I think the Leafs have spotted their future 4C!

From The Branches