The most has raised a few eyebrows, as Nylander is coming off of the best statistical season of his career on the wing, having scored 40 goals and 87 points in 2022-23.
One NHL Insider believes he has an idea as to why the Leafs may be attempting this now, of all seasons.
I know, I know.. there's Kaner's name again. It may seem like a stretch, but if the Maple Leafs were able to land Kane, it would allow them to ice the following lineup:
If the Leafs were to sign Kane for $775K, offering a $1M bonus for playing something like 50 games, a $1M bonus for scoring 20 goals and a $1M bonus for making the playoffs, that would give him a $3.775M pay day, with the $3M in bonus overages hitting the Leafs' salary cap next season, when the cap is set to rise exponentially. It would also help them save some cap space this season, as Jarnkrok's $2.1M minus Kane's $775K saves the team $1.325M in cap space this season.