Toronto Maple Leafs: 2017-18 Forward Grades

William Nylander

William Nylander went through a prolonged slump where he couldn’t buy a goal – 18 games, no goals.  He wasn’t playing bad, he was getting unlucky.  He wasn’t even getting too many assists, and while people tend to overreact in these situations, Nylander had a solid Corsi and was producing scoring chances like a fiend.  It was a text-book luck-based slump.

So while Nylander may not have had the flashiest season, but he was pretty great overall. He finished 27th overall in individual scoring chances for. He was also 27th in the NHL in 5v5 points, despite Matthews missing 1/4 of the season.

While his point production is around the same pace as his rookie season, he matched those totals while being incredibly unlucky for the first two and a half months of the season.  He matched them while playing on the second PP unit (where success was inexplicably hard to come by) and while Matthews missed so much time.

Nylander is a franchise player on just about any other team. He’s a future Hart and Art Ross contender and is already one of the NHL’s best wingers.

Nylander  and Matthews are one of the more lethal duos in the league. But beyond that, Nylander also played some centre and his versatility is a huge asset.  He tied for the Leafs lead in 5v5 points, and was third overall, finishing with 22/39/61.  He finished with a very good 50.17% possession rating.

– Josh Tessler / James Tanner