Toronto Maple Leafs: Everyone Take 88 Deep Breaths

It was announced last week that Toronto Maple Leafs forward, William Nylander, will be wearing No. 88 next season and oh my God everyone lost their minds.

So maybe I’m a little late with commentary on this piece of news. My plan was to wait out the madness online and then contribute my two cents. Well, it’s been a week since William Nylander announced the switch and Toronto Maple Leafs fans on Twitter are still freaking out about it.

Before Nylander was a Leaf, he played in the Swedish Hockey League and for the Swedish national team. He spent his career there wearing No. 88 but was forced to scrap it once he joined the Leafs organization.

On the Marlies he wore No. 62 and as a Leaf he wore No. 39 followed by No. 29 – all assigned by Lou Lamoriello. With Lou gone, he now has the freedom to wear the number he wants and he’s chosen to go back to No. 88.

Some fans are not having it.

Toronto’s seen this number before… but barely

A chunk of Leafs Twitter is not happy about Nylander’s number switch. Why? Because Philadelphia Flyers legend, Eric Lindros, played 33 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs over 10 years ago.

The horror.

https://twitter.com/FireWolf_13/status/1150775037756002310

Apparently the 22 points Lindros tallied – while wearing No. 88 – in his short 2005-06 season mean the absolute world to Leafs fans, despite missing the playoffs that year. And surely, if Toronto retired jerseys his would be right up there with the likes of Mats Sundin, Dave Keon and Darryl Sittler.

Lindros was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Philadelphia Flyers rightfully retired his jersey last year. On that team, he played a total of 486 games and had 659 points.

But his time in Toronto? His best work, no doubt.

Get real – Lindros is a legendary player but he contributed nothing to the Leafs. And, as the one person who could actually feel angry about Nylander wearing his number, he doesn’t.

So can we have nice things yet?

No.

When news broke that Nylander was changing his number, it was also announced that anyone who wanted to have their No. 29 jerseys recrested could do so on his (MLSE’s) dime. I think that’s a great gesture, knowing how expensive jerseys are and how many people – young kids especially – want his.

But not everyone sees it this way. For the worst and most hateful side of Leafs Nation, this was just another opportunity to complain about Nylander being overpaid (he’s not).  But, I’m not getting into that, it’s a tired argument.

The bottom line is, William Nylander is a good player who had a disappointing season. He didn’t start as early as everyone – including himself – had hoped and he didn’t exactly hit the ground running. Now he has a whole summer with no contract negotiations to distract him from training and he will return to the ice stronger, more confident and with No. 88 on his back.

He’s on a strong team that’s just getting stronger as the offseason deepens. Plus, this could be a record year for him – if he plays 34 games he’ll become the franchise leader in games played by a No. 88. He had 54 in his shortened 2018-19 season so his chances seem pretty good.