William Nylander Wants to Stay—Could That Impact Auston Matthews’ Decision?

President and CEO of MLSE, Keith Pelley, said on Tuesday that he wants the Toronto Maple Leafs to retool around its generational pieces in Auston Matthews and William Nylander. That sounds fine on the surface—although many are clamoring for much bigger change—but the real question then becomes, do those generational pieces want to stay themselves?

---

The future of Matthews looms large over the direction of the franchise, and until we know what he wants, everything else remains up in the air. The captain likely won’t reveal that for some time; however, on Thursday, fans learned that Nylander remains committed to the team, barring a rebuild. He was also asked whether Matthews’ decision could impact his own.

Nylander said:

“I mean, I haven’t really thought about it, like that far. Once they just told me (rebuilding is) not what they want to do — like, try to keep winning here or try to start winning (Stanley Cups)… If that point in time comes, then I’ll think about that then,”

The 29-year-old Nylander is in year two of the eight-year, $92 million extension he signed with the Maple Leafs in 2024, which includes a full no-movement clause throughout. Meanwhile, Matthews, 28, is in year two of the four-year $53 million extension he signed with the team in 2023.

Nylander leads Toronto in scoring with 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) despite having played in just 58 games this season. Matthews, on the other hand, finished his campaign with a career-low 53 points (27 goals, 26 assists) in 60 games.

Will Auston Matthews Want to Stay With William Nylander?

It sure sounds like whatever happens with Matthews could greatly affect Nylander’s thought process and decision-making, and understandably so. That part is relatively straightforward; what could get dicey, however, is whether Nylander stating he wants to stay impacts Matthews’ decision.

Most would assume that Matthews hearing his superstar winger and teammate of 10 years reaffirm his desire to stay in Toronto would sway him to feel the same, but it may not be so simple anymore.

Watching Nylander do nothing after Radko Gudas delivered a dirty knee-on-knee hit that ended his season can’t have sat well with Matthews, and many reports have suggested that the lasting image of that play and the aftermath could have major ramifications on the future of the team.

You can’t help but think that means it will impact Matthews’ line of thinking, and if he does commit to the Maple Leafs long-term, perhaps new management could even initiate seeing what a Nylander trade would bring back in return. Shaking up part of the core has to at least be considered, no matter what the stars want, and that became even more apparent after their lack of response to Gudas several weeks ago.

Next: Lou Lamoriello Applauds Islanders Fans for Harsh Reception of John Tavares