William Nylander told The Athletic on Wednesday he’s committed to staying with the Toronto Maple Leafs unless the organization decides on a complete rebuild.
“Unless it was a full rebuild and we were going to get rid of everybody, then it’s a different story. Then you take that conversation then. But just to do a retool or whatever, I don’t even know, but I mean, I still want to be here, yeah.”
The Maple Leafs fired general manager Brad Treliving on Monday after nearly three seasons. Toronto sits 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 32-30-13 record and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Nylander was 19 years old during that last playoff miss.
The winger had what he called a “good conversation” with Treliving before the March 6 trade deadline. He liked the message he received from his now-former GM.
“Brad said that he doesn’t want to rebuild or anything. He just wants to retool and stuff. That sounded fine for me.”
Despite Treliving’s departure, the organization’s approach hasn’t changed. MLSE CEO Keith Pelley will hire Toronto’s next head of hockey operations and doesn’t believe the team needs a complete teardown.
“We all know the Toronto Maple Leafs have foundational pieces in place. If we’re able to surround them with the right culture, with the right structure, with the right personnel, both on and off the ice, then I would say we would be in a retool, not a rebuild.”
Nylander is signed through 2031-32 at an $11.5-million cap hit.
Leafs captain Auston Matthews only has two seasons remaining on his contract after this campaign ends. Nylander hasn’t thought about how Matthews’ future might affect his own decisions.
“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 – try to keep winning here or try to start winning (Stanley Cups).”
He added:
“If that point in time comes, then I’ll think about that then.”
Nylander described this season as “super frustrating and rattling” but said he’s “not too worried” about the franchise’s direction.
“You just look at Boston this year. They were not in the playoffs last year, and they’re having a pretty good season this year.”
The comparison references how quickly teams can turn things around in the NHL. Boston missed the playoffs entirely last season but currently sits in playoff position.
