[Signing] Leafs sign Nylander to 6 yr $41.77m deal ($10.2m hit in yr 1, $6.97m hit yr 2-6)

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by sworkhard

They didn't inflate the salary, they inflated the cap hit.

The salary is 41.77 million over 6 seasons, making an AAV of 6.96, which, when pro-rated for the remaining 68% of the season makes the cap hit become 10.2 million this year. This is done to ensure teams aren't circumventing the cap by waiting to sign players until later in the season.

Right. They inflated the cap hit to avoid circumvention.

Which agrees with what I am saying - Nylander doesn't get that. Nylander misses some games, and gets a slow start to the season. The cap hit gets inflated for this year so that the Leafs don't benefit from his holdout. Nylander gets $41.77M over 6 years.

There is no $45M, and there is no spoon.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I don't know why not. The reason for that deal is to manage cap hit year to year. That wouldn't have changed.

But the point for other players is that a holdout rarely results in a significant increase. I doubt he made a whole lot more in this contract than what was being offered.

You think they would have paid him $10.2M this year if he signed in August? I'll agree to disagree.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

You think they would have paid him $10.2M this year if he signed in August? I'll agree to disagree.

To inflate the cap hit? Sure. The Leafs' cap hit problem is a little unique because they have room this year and not next. So I don't see how that changed between summer and now.

[jlh2640]

I will never understand why or how it took this long

[Split98]

Dubas is one smart cookie. With Matthews, Marner, Kapanen and a whole host of others needing new contracts next year he made his best trading chip even more attractive. There's no doubt Dubas' phone was pretty busy with offers that will still be around next year, and TML just lined him with cash to make it even easier for more teams around the league to bid.

I would imagine they will plan on keeping Nylander, but I would bet this contract was structured with a few teams in mind. If they need to, this is a pretty easy player to move - and the assets coming the other way just got juicier.

He was polishing his assets in the middle of a stand-off

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

To inflate the cap hit? Sure. The Leafs' cap hit problem is a little unique because they have room this year and not next. So I don't see how that changed between summer and now.

But you can't have a higher cap this year if you sign in August. This was simply an adjustment, it wasn't about paying him $10.2M

[David Struch]

Does anyone know when the $8,300,000 signing bonus is paid in the second year of the contract, trade value will be astronomical with the final five seasons (after bonus paid) with the base salary dropping down to $700,000 then $2,500,000 x 4.

I just noticed the Modified NTC in the final year too.

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/mapleleafs

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

But you can't have a higher cap this year if you sign in August. This was simply an adjustment, it wasn't about paying him $10.2M

I don't understand what you are saying, I guess. They structured the compensation to make year one incredibly high, because that's the year they have cap space. That is the same in August as it is Dec. 1. So he could have signed the same deal then. I'd be pretty surprised if the same deal, give or take a relatively small amount, wasn't there then.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by David Struch

Does anyone know when the $8,300,000 signing bonus is paid in the second year of the contract, trade value will be astronomical with the final five seasons (after bonus paid) with the base salary dropping down to $700,000 then $2,500,000 x 4.

I just noticed the Modified NTC in the final year too.

https://www.capfriendly.com/teams/mapleleafs

Signing bonuses in the second year (or any subsequent year) of a contract are paid on July 1 of that season.

[pseudoreality]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

But it's not $45M. He gets $41.77M

They inflated the stated salary for this year, so that he would still get $6.77M. That inflated number doesn't mean anything, other than being a conversation piece.

When he files his taxes, he won't be bragging that the number was pro-rated to $10M.

We don't have the same amount of contract hold-outs that we use to have in the pre-cap days, but contracts have always been reported and compared on an annual basis on what they would have got paid if they played the entire year. It makes it easier to compare that way.

For example, let's say I accepted a 2.5-year term position with a company that paid me $100k/year starting in July. My salary is $100k/year, even though I only get $50k in the first year. The comparison is $100k/year, not $250k/3 for $83k/year.

Here's the link to capfriendly for a breakdown of the contract.

https://www.capfriendly.com/players/william-nylander

[David Struch]

So, $17.07 million will have been paid by July 1st, 2019.

Leaving only $24.7 million to be paid for the final 5 seasons. (essentially a $4.94 million a year salary expense for the team acquiring Nylander if the deal is made after July 1st, 2019)

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Nylander gets $41.77M over 6 years.

But he doesn't play 6 years.

I guess the confusion may be based on how much cash Nylander actually receives? If he gets the full amount of $41.77M and plays less than 6 years, in reality his pay is greater than $41.77/6.

[Snuffleupagus]

Originally Posted by Enoch Root

Yeah it's interesting...

From Nylander's perspective, $6.96M, only giving up 1 year of UFA, is fantastic. Also, he gets 40% of the money in the first 10 months.

But from Toronto's perspective, the cap hit is manageable, and more importantly, this contract will be VERY tradable after July 1st.

Win-win?

Even the crazy Leafs wouldn't want to pay $17m for 55 games of service..would they?

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Even the crazy Leafs wouldn't want to pay $17m for 55 games of service..would they?

Sure they would.

It allows teams with lots of money to get better trades because poorer teams will save cash dollars.

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Snuffleupagus

Even the crazy Leafs wouldn't want to pay $17m for 55 games of service..would they?

Depends if they thought at the time of the signing if he was the piece to put them over the top in regards to a SC winner.

I doubt he is, but they may believe otherwise...and if he is, he will more than cover that 17 million in a number of ways.

he is getting raded, there is no doubt unless they can somehow convince Marleau to waive his NMC which is a pipe dream at this point. Even then I'm not sure that allows them enough room to re-up both Marner and Matthews.

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

But he doesn't play 6 years.

I guess the confusion may be based on how much cash Nylander actually receives? If he gets the full amount of $41.77M and plays less than 6 years, in reality his pay is greater than $41.77/6.

I think he does get the full $41.77M, because the total of the contract (incl this year at 10+2) is actually 45M. The ~3M in cap hit and real money have evaporated...actually they never even existed.


The thing that still confuses me is the total AAV of the contract is 45.089M, but the total real cash is 45M...

edit: guessing maybe the differential is because the 2M signing bonus this year is not prorated?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by pseudoreality

We don't have the same amount of contract hold-outs that we use to have in the pre-cap days, but contracts have always been reported and compared on an annual basis on what they would have got paid if they played the entire year. It makes it easier to compare that way.

For example, let's say I accepted a 2.5-year term position with a company that paid me $100k/year starting in July. My salary is $100k/year, even though I only get $50k in the first year. The comparison is $100k/year, not $250k/3 for $83k/year.

Here's the link to capfriendly for a breakdown of the contract.

https://www.capfriendly.com/players/william-nylander

That argument breaks down here because it is reported in a unique way.

The typical contract has a uniform AAV from start to finish. This one does not because of cap circumvention prevention rules. In this case, it makes far more sense to look at it as two deals. A one year deal at $10.3 million followed by a five year deal at $6.96 million per year.

Your example would only be valid if Nylander was given an AAV of $7.5 million for all years of the deal. And in this respect, it is a little ironic that a rule meant to prevent cap circumvention instead encouraged it.

[The Cobra]

It would appear that Nylander will receive $41.77M over 5.67 years, or a yearly salary of about $7.3M. That's his cash dollars divided by the seasons he actually plays.

Now, Nylander is more interested in the cash he gets, the Leafs likely more interested in the cap hit.

But at the end of the day, Nylander effectively gets any money he might have lost for not playing during his holdout period.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I don't understand what you are saying, I guess. They structured the compensation to make year one incredibly high, because that's the year they have cap space. That is the same in August as it is Dec. 1. So he could have signed the same deal then. I'd be pretty surprised if the same deal, give or take a relatively small amount, wasn't there then.

No, if it happened in August, all the years would have the same cap hit.

The cap hit is high in year 1 because it is back-filling on a pro-rata basis.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by The Cobra

It would appear that Nylander will receive $41.77M over 5.67 years, or a yearly salary of about $7.3M. That's his cash dollars divided by the seasons he actually plays.

Now, Nylander is more interested in the cash he gets, the Leafs likely more interested in the cap hit.

But at the end of the day, Nylander effectively gets any money he might have lost for not playing during his holdout period.

It is Nylander's choice that he is only playing for 5.7 years. The contract is for 6 years.

Had he signed it in the summer, it is very unlikely that they would have given him the $3Mish that he held out on.

This is all semantics, but he isn't getting $45M. It is only being reported that way on cap-friendly et al in order to show the gross-up this year, in an attempt to avoid cap circumvention.