Prior to the start of the 2023-24 NHL season, the Toronto Maple Leafs, we assume, did all they could in trying to reach an extension deal with forward William Nylander. Unfortunately, it didn’t come to fruition as the season eventually started.
Despite being one of the members of the “core four” on the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has often been playing in the shadows of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and captain John Tavares.
However, whenever he was on his game, his puck-handling, creativity, and on-ice dominance could arguably be the best on the team.
Don’t look now, but it appears as though Nylander has raised his game to another level and has definitely come to play this NHL season. At the rate he is currently producing for the Leafs, sad to say, he could potentially be playing his way out of town.
Is Toronto Maple Leafs Forward William Nylander Playing His Way Out of Toronto?
Nylander is currently on a nine-game point streak to start the season in which he has scored six goals and seven assists for 13 points, along with 39 shots on goal while averaging close to 20 minutes of ice time per game.
The scary part is he doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. Playing mostly on a line with Tavares, they have undoubtedly been the Leafs most dangerous line to date for the 2023-24 season. (All stats from hockeyreference.com)
Not only that, but Nylander is even starting to get more time on the penalty kill as well, which could further develop his overall defensive game. If he ends up doing well in the role, it would just make him that much more valuable to the team, and at the same time, raise the price tag needed to retain him as a result.
So in fact, the Leafs are inadvertently heading towards a dilemma. The more that Nylander produces, the more likely that the Leafs will have a successful winning season and could finally make some noise in the playoffs.
However, it could also mean this is the last season we will see Nylander in a Leafs uniform because the more his impact on the team turns out to be, the most likely he will be beyond what the Leafs can afford.
So there will eventually come a time this season when the Leafs need to decide if they want to keep Nylander for the Stanley Cup run, or if they should trade him for the franchise defenseman they definitely need.
However, that is a problem they could put in the back pocket for now to worry about just a bit later. In the meantime, we should all enjoy this coming out season by Nylander in 2023-24.