Leafs to keep William Nylander up, burn first year of contract

When Mike Babcock was talking about the young Toronto Maple Leafs trio of William Nylander, Zach Hyman and Nikita Soshnikov he said, “[I]f they can show they can play, then let's play them.”

With Toronto heading for the draft lottery, Babcock and GM Lou Lamoriello will continue to see what the three kids can do at the NHL level as they will be in the lineup Thursday night, hitting the 10-game mark in the process. We all know the Leafs' plan include a long-term vision, with those three hopefully a big part of it. 

In Nylander’s case, being in the lineup against the Florida Panthers will mean burning the first year of his entry-level deal. He'll become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2018.

[Join a Yahoo Daily Fantasy Hockey contest today]

Should Nylander stay up this season and play the remaining games left on the Leafs' schedule, that will give him 22 NHL games of service, 18 games short of the minimum needed to bring a player one year closer to UFA status.

Nylander (45 points), Hyman (33 points) and Soshnikov (28 points) were all key in helping the Toronto Marlies to the AHL’s best record. Once Toronto's season ends, all three can go back down and help in a Calder Cup run. For now, they'll just continue giving Leafs fans a glimpse into the future.

- - - - - - -

Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

MORE FROM YAHOO HOCKEY: