Toronto Maple Leafs: EIL Content Roundup – October 18th

The Toronto Maple Leafs are back, baby!

The regular season is finally upon us, and the Editor in Leaf staff have been working around the clock to bring you, our loyal readers, right into the middle of the action. Every angle has been covered, and every stone has been overturned.

With so many stories hitting the wall all at once, it’s easy to lose a few in the shuffle. So, enjoy this roundup of this week’s notable pieces.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Nylander & Dubas Meet in Switzerland

This is it, folks. We could finally be reaching the end of our personal hell. William Nylander and Kyle Dubas are meeting in the beautiful Alps of Switzerland in an attempt to push contract talks along.

Thank. God.

I can’t take this anymore. I can’t handle the constant takes. I can’t handle the stream of average joes who pretend to know what’s in the best interests of an elite athlete’s financial future. I’ve become allergic to words “offer” and “sheet”. I’m done. This better be it.

Josh breaks these talks down to determine whether or not the end could be near.

“The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to a great start, but don’t let the flashy numbers make you think that they don’t need William Nylander.  The Leafs can’t keep up their insane pace, and eventually, when they are struggling, the same people who say they don’t need him now will be desperate to have him back.

Last season, Nylander had a great season with the Maple Leafs. In 82 games played, he registered 20 goals, 41 assists, 12 power-play points, a 10.9 S% and a 51.4 CF%. He was among the top fifteen players in 5v5 scoring.

Nylander’s point totals likely would have been higher, but Auston Matthews missed 20 games last season and the duo was relegated to the second PP unit.”

Toronto Maple Leafs: Kapanen Can’t Replace Nylander

Speaking of Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen’s hot start alongside Auston Matthews has led a lot of people to suggest the Leafs don’t actually need their Swedish superstar anymore.

Stop this. Stop it right now.

William Nylander is a phenomenal hockey player, and I think him being absent for so long has allowed us to undervalue him to an extent. Kapanen has played very well, but players like Nylander don’t just come around all the time. He’s special and should be thought of as such.

James takes a stab at explaining this in his latest piece.

“William Nylander is one of the best wingers in the NHL.  He has elite offensive abilities and is not a defensive liability. At 21 he’s already a first line player, his potential ceiling is that of an all-time great.  Had the Leafs not drafted Marner and Matthews, Nylander would be considered one of the top three Leafs draft picks of all-time, along with Wendel Clark and Tomas Kaberle.

Nylander has the potential to compete for an NHL scoring title. To be a complete player who eventually has a statue built of him outside of the arena. This is not someone you trade away because for this one single season you happen to be weak at right-defence.  (Rasmus Sandin, Sean Durzi and Timothy Liljegren are all right-handed).

Kasperi Kapanen is OK.”

Toronto Maple Leafs: Is Zach Hyman on the Right Line?

To be fair to Chris, he wrote this prior to Zach Hyman’s phenomenal deke-then-pass move to fluidly set up a Mitch Marner tap-in versus the Kings.

Still, I don’t think we’re asking the right questions. It’s no longer “Is Hyman best suited to play alongside Marner and John Tavares?” What we must determine now is “Are Marner and Tavares best suited to play alongside Hyman?”

Lines may change in the wake of Nylander’s return. Should Hyman stay put when that happens? Chris breaks all that down.

“Zach Hyman, arguably the best left winger on the Toronto Maple Leafs, has been suiting up consistently on a line with John Tavares and Mitch Marner.  But is this the best combination?

In the first period of last night’s game, Tavares had a 2-on-1 with Mitch Marner.  What seemed like a sure thing goal turned out to be a blunder when Tavares issued a drop pass that surprised everyone on the ice, including it’s intended recipient, Zach Hyman.  Hard to blame Hyman for being surprised, but it made me wonder – should the Leafs have a more skilled player on this line?

Zach Hyman earned his spot on the Matthews and Nylander line last season by being the player who went and got the puck and passed it to one of the other players. He might not have a ton of offensive skill, but he’s a great puck retriever and in his career, he’s put up some decent peripheral numbers.”

Thanks for reading!