The Toronto Maple Leafs have already paid three members of their Core Four, and now, it appears they may be on the verge of locking down the last member of their leadership group. <h2>William Nylander closing in on massive pay day</h2> <div align='center' style='padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:20px;'><img src='https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/358277.webp' width='100%' border='0' alt='image' loading='lazy' defer /></div> This past summer when the Maple Leafs paid Auston Matthews, many believed it would limit them from locking up William Nylander long-term, but according to one insider, that's not the case after all. On the FAN590, former NHLer Nick Kypreos revealed that the two parties were nearing a deal, and it's a massive number for the 26-year old rising superstar. <q>There is lots of talk about William Nylander, and it's trending close to the Leafs and Willy getting a deal done is what I hear. General feeling amongst both sides is that they'd like to get a deal done before NHL All-Star Weekend. The other belief is that it will be a number that is over 11. 11.25 is the one that is probably mentioned the most...times eight.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/FAN590/status/1742303395245949426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1742303395245949426%7Ctwgr%5E4440f0bcf600b48979b9cfe588254731635afbad%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bladeofsteel.com%2Fnhl-team%2Ftoronto-maple-leafs%2FWilliam-Nylander-close-to-signing-new-deal-set-to-become-one-of-the-top-6-highest-paid-players-in-the-NHL-according-to-insider'> </a></blockquote></div> <h2>Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup or Bust?</h2> This payday for Nylander would put him in the realm of Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Artemi Panarin and Erik Karlsson in terms of annual salary, and while things are looking up for Nylander, that would be a big risk for Toronto given he's never passed 100 points before. This season however, Nylander has 48 points in his first 34 games, and if he can continue this pace, he may be the difference between a first-round exit and a Stanley Cup run, so no one could blame Toronto for making this move. As Read on Blade of Steel - <a href='https://www.bladeofsteel.com/William-Nylander-close-to-signing-new-deal-set-to-become-one-of-the-top-6-highest-paid-players-in-the-NHL-according-to-insider-318229?fbclid=IwAR3xc7C5v_ZqzIS1FqrBgWrz69itf6ETi79m3A6Z5_9j7iiaNEQG-9aGXoI' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>William Nylander close to signing new deal, set to become one of the top 6 highest paid players in the NHL according to insider</a>