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Is it smart for the Toronto Maple Leafs to play William Nylander at centre?

Here we go again, so will it work out for both Nylander and the Maple Leafs this time around?

By Edward Eng

Apr 9, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) tries to skate past New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (71) during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
Apr 9, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) tries to skate past New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler (71) during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images / John Jones-Imagn Images
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As NHL training camp begins, it comes that time of year again where the Toronto Maple Leafs like to experiment with things in preparation for the regular season.

It just so happens that one of the things that the Toronto Maple Leafs are revisiting is the deployment of William Nylander once again at centre.

They actually had that trial in place last year during the preseason, but then head coach Sheldon Keefe was quick to pull the plug on the idea when things didn’t go the way he was expecting.

But what if Nylander is given a longer run at the position? Can he actually clear up the hiccups he had in handling the role? That is exactly what new Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube has in mind this time around.

Is it smart for the Toronto Maple Leafs to play William Nylander at centre?

So that brings the question, will trying to play Nylander at centre be a good idea for the Leafs, or will the experiment just end up wasting valuable preparation and line chemistry time heading into the 2024-25 regular season?

In terms of the advantages of this setup, it would allow the Maple Leafs to roll three potent scoring units with Auston Matthews, Nylander, and John Tavares each driving their own lines down the middle.

In doing so, it would create a matchup nightmare for the opposition on a nightly basis. Secondly, with Nylander’s superb ability in zone exits, taking on the role of centre will open many breakout strategies and avenues when the Leafs head up ice on an offensive rush. In addition, the Leafs would have their top 2 centres set for the next four to seven years.

However, there are of course some drawbacks with the move. The main one is that Nylander doesn't have much of a defensive game. The second one is that he's almost 30 and has been a winger for the last decade at least, if he's even ever played the position before. He just might not be good at it!

One reason it might work is that the Leafs have an excess of wingers. Though there is no replacing Nylander, Mitch Marner, Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Nick Robertson, Bobby McMann, Easton Cowan, Calle Jarnkrok, and potentially even Max Pacioretty give the Leafs eight wingers competing for six jobs.

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Nevertheless, it will be an experiment that’s worth trying out because if it works out, it can maximize the team’s overall offensive potential substantially. All else fails, they can always do what they did last year and put Nylander back on the wing prior to the start of the season. 

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