Already a major problem in Matthews, Marner’s contract negotiations…

Everyone in Toronto got excited on Saturday when the Maple Leafs finally managed to sign free agent forward William Nylander to a contract extension in the last minutes prior to the RFA deadline. Nylander and Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas agreed to a six-year deal that carries an annual average value of $6.9 million less than an hour before Saturday’s 5 p.m. ET deadline. Dubas filed the official paperwork with the NHL and players’ association with minutes to spare, officially ending the impasse.

Now more complications are upon general manager Dubas as he needs to focus on his two pending RFA star forwards in Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. He can’t afford to let his two star players be available in free agency on July 1, even if that free agency is restricted.

Bob McKenzie believes there might be some complications even if the Maple Leafs are quite aware they need to act with urgency. During a segment of Insider Trading on TSN on Tuesday night, McKenzie explained that while the Leafs would like to settle this shortly, there is one problem fans might not have thought about is already in the way. 

“The problem is, who goes first and who goes last? The sense seems to be that both guys would prefer the other guy to go first and then see where they’re at, and if nobody wants to go first, then obviously a deal is never going to get done.”

Maple Leafs fans have just gotten out of a sticky situation with Nylander and fans surely want to hear positive development with Matthews and Marner, so McKenzie explained that the two players could be helped out by rival players in the league. 

“The potential plan B would be to be more reactive, what about Mikko Ratanen, Brayden Point and Patrik Laine? All of those guys have spectacular numbers that in various areas compared to Marner and Matthews. What if those guys go first?”

The cap is set to rise to $83 million next year, however, the financial puzzle remains for Dubas who wants to get this done as soon as possible. 

The Nylander deal is over. And guess what? Another nervous season has already started in Toronto…