How does Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner's contract impact William Nylander's Maple Leafs future?

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced the extension of Auston Matthews on Wednesday, which was a massive relief for fans.

Matthews signed a four-year $13.25 million extension that will kick in for the 2024-25 NHL season and will take him until his age 31 season. The deal will make Matthews the highest-paid player in the NHL, which was expected.

However, after the deal was announced, many fans wondered what that meant for William Nylander's future.

Nylander is a pending free agent next summer, and he reportedly wanted around $10 million, while Toronto was hoping to get him in around $8 million. Part of the reason why the deal hasn't been reached as the Maple Leafs want Nylander to take less money so Toronto can keep Matthews, Marner, Tavares and him all together.

However, according to reports, Nylander his agent wasn't thrilled to be the only player to take less so all four could stick together. Matthews became the highest-paid player, Tavares is making $11 million and $10.93 million for two more seasons.

With those three players under contract for sizeable money, whether or not Toronto will have the cap space to keep Nylander is uncertain. At $10 million per year, they likely won't be able to, which is why they want him at $8 million.

However, Nylander spoke to Sportsnet on Wednesday and said he wasn't worried about his pending free-agent status:

"I still have one more year, and I know how much I love it there. And it would take a lot for me to want to leave Toronto. Like, that's a place I want to be at. And that's where my mind's at for the coming year and for the future. I'm not thinking about being anywhere else."

Ultimately, it does appear that the Toronto Maple Leafs have focused on Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares as their three, and the Swede could very well be playing his final year as a Maple Leaf.

William Nylander's NHL stats

William Nylander has become a point-per-game player in the NHL over the past few years. He finished last season with 87 points in 81 games, which was a career-high.

Nylander also followed that up with a great playoff as many Leaf players failed to show up in the second round. The Swede recorded 10 points in 11 games.

As a Maple Leaf, William Nylander has skated in 521 regular season games and has recorded 430 points.