Thoughts on the Toronto Maple Leafs moving William Nylander back to the wing

Entering this season, one of the biggest changes for the Toronto Maple Leafs was William Nylander’s move to centre. The experiment is nothing new, but Leafs coach Craig Berube announced it would solve a number of issues for the club.

Thus far, the experiment has lasted for exactly one game. Since then, Nylander has not suited up in game action while heading back to the wing during Tuesday’s practice, leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs extremely thin at centre.

When asked about the move, Berube told the media the idea of switching Max Domi and Nylander from centre to wing and vice-versa was intended to give both players different looks. Moreover, the aim was to provide the team with more flexibility.

Fair enough. Nylander told the media following practice that they shouldn’t read much into the move. Additionally, he stated that it was “no big deal” playing on the wing. Nylander was very casual about the situation, stating that he felt comfortable playing in any situation.

Nylander did make an interesting remark, pointing out that this year’s training camp was much more intense than others. Nylander underscored the fact that he had been part of plenty of defensive drills as part of his move to centre.

Could this be the reason why Berube is exploring the possibility of moving Nylander back to the wing?

In my estimation, it seems that the defensive responsibility that comes with playing centre in the NHL may be too much for Nylander. He’s an offensively gifted player but not the kind that seems keen on playing a full 200-foot game.

John Tavares back at 2C for the Toronto Maple Leafs

While John Tavares remains a very good player to date, he is at the age when decline starts to show and one of the best things about moving Nylander to centre was the easier matchups that Tavares would get on the third line.

Now, there isn’t a clear-cut internal candidate to take over that spot. David Kampf doesn't score enough, Max Domi is terrible at defense, and Pontus Holmberg is a mystery.

Domi seems the most likely option to move back to centre, but he's only played two games so far in the pre-season: one where he was on the wing with Nylander at centre and one where he was at centre in place of Auston Matthews, with Marner on his wing. He isn't playing in either of those roles once the season starts.

In my opinion, Domi is the right choice for the third-line centre. Barring a trade, or a reversal on the Nylander decision, Domi is clealry a superior choice to both Kampf and Holmberg.

Domi’s got the grit, talent, speed, and skills to make it happen. Though it is worth pointing out that his defensive game has always undermined his abilities to play centre and that statistically, he is far more effective as winger.