Toronto Maple Leafs: 4 Reasons Why There Is 0% Chance of a Nylander Trade

Nylander Going Forward

We have seen that what we have in William Nylander is a player whose totals were suppressed by circumstance.  I guess the question to ask then, is what can we expect from him in the future?

Let’s look at a few things that might give us an idea.

Nylander lead the Toronto Maple Leafs in possession, with 56% of the shot-attempts when he is on the ice.

This makes him one of the single best play drivers in the NHL.  Whatever you think of Corsi is irrelevant – it is a 100% guarantee that a player who under-performs in the realm of goals and assists over a single season, but who drives 56% of the play, and has a history of scoring at a first line rate, will improve his totals int he future.

The fact is the underlying numbers are so good with Nylander that no one should care at all what his counting totals were this year.

Additionally, Nylanders differentials in all stats were positive: 56% of shot-attempts, 54% of shots, 57% of scoring chances and 55% of goals.  Despite the criticism he has taken (99% of which is completely ridiculous) the Toronto Maple Leafs won the portions of the game in which he was on the ice.

The Leafs were not only winning when Nylander was on the ice, but they were winning in all areas that lead to winning.

These percentages are a lot more repeatable than Nylander’s counting totals (i.e goals and assists).  It is an extremely good bet, based on these numbers, that his point totals this season were an anomaly.