The Toronto Maple Leafs are known for having one of the NHL's best goal scorers, Auston Matthews. He has 27 goals this season and is on pace to record his 9th straight 30-goal season. 30 goals is a far cry from the 69 goals he scored last season, but he's been dealing with a nagging injury all season.
(All stats from hockey-reference.com)
Luckily, the Toronto Maple Leafs have more than one player who is proficient at scoring goals. John Tavares scored his 31st and 32nd goals of the season on Tuesday in a four-point night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Another player who scored twice and had four points on Tuesday was William Nylander. Nylander registered his 39th and 40th goals of the season. The 2024-25 season is Nylander's 3rd season in a row scoring 40 goals.
That's pretty impressive for a player who rarely gets credit for his scoring. Every season, the same group of "fans" call for the Leafs to trade Nylander.
William Nylander is underappreciated despite 3rd straight 40 goal season
Those same "fans" have no idea how lucky they are. Many fanbases would love to have a player who scores 40 goals every season. When Matthews is healthy, the Leafs have two 40-goal scorers. I'm not sure if Nylander gets lost in Matthews' shadow or what, but Nylander is clearly underappreciated.
The Leafs have Nylander under contract for three more seasons at $11.5 million a season. If he continues to put up 40-goal seasons with 80 or more points, then he's worth every penny. Some might disagree, but that's okay.
Some will argue that his regular season numbers don't matter if he doesn't show up in the playoffs. First of all, you need to score in the regular season to help your team win games to get into the playoffs. On top of that, Nylander has 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points in 54 playoff games. His playoff stats are fine. (Salary cap information from puckpedia.com)
Recently, Nylander has been paired with Tavares and Bobby McMann on the Leafs second line. The trio is making head coach Craig Berube look good. In Tuesday's win over the Flyers, their line registered five goals and five assists combining for ten points. Hopefully, the line continues to benefit all three players, and they continue to produce offense for the Leafs. Having a line clicking like the way they are will be needed come playoff time.
As of Wednesday, the Leafs sit in first place within the Atlantic Division with 89 points. They only have 11 games remaining until the playoffs start and they are currently in a battle with the Florida Panthers (89 points) and Tampa Bay Lightning (87 points) for the coveted top spot in the Atlantic Division.
The winner of the Atlantic Division will play the first wildcard team in round one of the playoffs. If the playoffs were to begin right now, the Leafs would be playing the Ottawa Senators in an epic Battle of Ontario.