There’s been a separation between the brightest of the young stars on the Maple Leafs.

Many once grouped Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner together in one breathless sentence. But that’s no longer the case. Despite injuries, Matthews has clearly elevated himself above the others, adding more solid evidence to the belief that, in time, he’ll become both the highest-paid player on the club and the next team captain.

Matthews has kept up his 0.5 goals per game pace and become a point-a-game player. Unhindered by any hint of a sophomore slump, he seemingly gets better by the shift.

Nylander and Marner, however, have found the going somewhat more difficult in their second seasons, a reality obscured to some degree by the fact the team is winning more and scoring more goals this season. After Nylander potted 22 goals last season and Marner sniped 19, neither player is on pace to get near those totals this season.

Terrible news? Not particularly. It would be an exaggeration, certainly, to say that either is playing badly. They’re just young players still figuring it all out, dealing with the challenges of being consistent NHLers now that the novelty of it all has died down a wee bit.

And it could be very good news for the long-term future of the hockey club.

That’s not to say Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock are pleased with the struggles of the two youngsters, or happy they’re not scoring goals like they were. A loss like the one in Philadelphia on Tuesday night might have turned into a win if Marner had buried a glorious chance in the final minutes. If he had, it would have only been his third goal of the season to that point, a function of the fact his shooting percentage is down more than 60 per cent from last season.

Nylander has had similar shooting percentage woes. Instead of going for 30 goals, he’d be thrilled with 20.

But the Leafs brain trust is populated not only by patient thinkers who understand the ups and downs of youth, but also by practical thinkers who spend time every day imagining ways to build a championship roster. That includes the issue of payroll and salary cap management, and many have wondered just how the Leafs will be able to keep Matthews, Marner and Nylander and still have enough money left for the rest of the roster.

Well, let’s just say that’s less of a concern at the moment than it was in October.

Nylander will need a new contract after this season, and based on last season, it wasn’t hard to imagine he might have been eying something approaching the eight-year, $68-million contract signed by Leon Draisaitl in the summer. Certainly something north of $7 million per season.

Instead, Nylander may have to accept considerably less on a long-term arrangement, or even a bridge deal to get him through the next couple of seasons.

That alone would be very helpful to the Leafs given some of the choices they’ll have on their plate the next two summers. If they imagine taking a shot at John Tavares or Drew Doughty, they’ll need all the room they can get.

Marner, meanwhile, has one more season left on his entry-level deal, and more time to get his numbers in shape for his next negotiation. He has seen the riches bestowed on Connor McDavid (eight years, $100 million) and Jack Eichel (eight years, $80 million), the first and second picks of the 2015 NHL draft in which Marner was the fourth selection. McDavid’s contract would be out of reach, but based on Eichel’s play and numbers, he might be an easier comparable for Marner. That’s if Marner’s stats improve.

The reality for the Leafs is that if they can pay Marner and Nylander a little less over the next three to four years, it could really enhance their ability to build a stronger team.

The salary cap is going up, but not fast enough if the Leafs end up having to allot more than $25 million to their shiny three young forwards. Matthews is going to get his dough — let’s guess $12 million to $14 million per season — and the question will be how much the other two can get.

Having Morgan Rielly, Frederik Anderson, Nazem Kadri and Nikita Zaitsev all locked up for a collective annual cap hit of $19 million until 2021 is helpful, as are the millions the Leafs will see fall off their payroll this summer.

But the bigger salaries can do a lot more damage to a payroll.

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It’s a bit of a conundrum for Leaf fans. They want Marner and Nylander to be wildly successful. But they can also finally realistically dream of a shot at the Stanley Cup somewhere in the near future and know that too much success too early from those youngsters could weaken the overall roster.

True, these are the kinds of problems all teams would like to have. Too many good, expensive players. Boo-hoo, right?

Damien Cox is the co-host of Prime Time Sports on Sportsnet 590 The FAN. He spent nearly 30 years covering a variety of sports for The Star. Follow him @DamoSpin. His column appears Tuesday and Saturday.

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