After making the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking to finally break through this year in their pursuit of the elusive Stanley Cup.
To do so, the Toronto Maple Leafs will need some of their players to step up and elevate their game to another level in order for them to have any chance in advancing past the first round and beyond.
As a result, who would be the key X-factor for the Leafs to help lead the team to success in this year’s playoffs?
Could it be the dynamic duo of Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner? Or perhaps one of the Maple Leafs goalies in Joseph Woll or Ilya Samsonov channeling their inner Curtis Joseph to be the saviour for the team? Or maybe even dominant “playoff” Morgan Rielly resurfacing again to do what he did last year both offensively and defensively?
Who is the X-Factor for Toronto Maple Leafs in This Year’s NHL Playoffs?
But actually, it isn’t any of the above, as the main X-factor for the Leafs is none other than William Nylander. Yes, that’s right, Willy Styles himself. Why is that? (Note: at the time of writing this article, it was unclear whether Nylander was going to play last night).
Well, looking back to the past three postseasons for the Maple Leafs, Nylander has actually been the one that led the team in total playoff goals with 12, along with tying for the team lead in game-winning goals with 2.
More importantly, where the Leafs tend to suffer a power outage in their power play in recent times during the playoffs, Nylander has often come through to lead the team with 4 power play goals. So as much as Nylander has been scrutinized for his lacklustre play during the postseason, he has in fact been one of the most productive Leafs since the turn of the decade.
On top of that, Nylander is coming off a career year in 2023-24 in which he tied his career high in goals with 40, along with setting personal bests in assists (58), points (98) and shots on goal (316).
More impressively, despite not known for his aggressive checking and toughness, he registered a career-high 32 hits this season, providing some surprising hurt on his opponents. As a result, Nylander is certainly a dangerous weapon for the Maple Leafs to deploy this playoffs.
However, Nylander was absent from the Maple Leafs skate on Friday, suggesting that he may be nursing some sort of ailment. (All stats from NHL.com and hockey-reference.com)
But the more important thing to worry about is whatever version of Nylander will appear in the playoffs this year will determine how much of an X-factor he will be in the end. Will it be the one that pulls up and hands the puck to the opposition to avoid getting obliterated into the boards? Or will it be the one that get pummelled by the opposing defenders but manages to get the pass over to his teammate for a prime scoring chance?
If the latter version is the one that will materialized, making Nylander a true difference maker, then there is a great chance the Maple Leafs will make a deep, successful run in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.