No. 4: William Nylander
Another player that fans love to bash, for no good reason, is William Nylander. I understand that fans were unhappy with his contract negotiations and season two years ago, but that should be old news.
His contract is actually very reasonable for his production and he’s one of the better wingers in the NHL. Maybe it’s his good looks and blonde hair that flaps in the wind when he skates, but Nylander deserves much more love than what he gets.
During the 2019-20 campaign, Nylander scored 31 goals and was on-pace to score 27 goals in an 82-game season last year.
30 goals is a great season for anyone in the league, but expect that number to rise even more this year. As Nylander enters his seventh NHL season and starts to hit the prime of his career, he’s going to score 40 goals this year and shock everyone.
Nylander hasn’t played a true 82-game season in four years so we haven’t seen what he can do in a real campaign. As a result, Nylander is going to be a huge breakout star for the Toronto Maple Leafs and join Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner at the NHL All-Star game, as he competes with Matthews for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy.