Nylander - In round 2 doing his thing.

[kevsh]

Show him videos of himself finishing checks wearing a Sweden uniform then remind him that unlike Sweden the Leafs are paying him $7 million/year.

 

[ACC1224]

Show him videos of himself finishing checks wearing a Sweden uniform then remind him that unlike Sweden the Leafs are paying him $7 million/year.

Do those videos exist?

 

[Kurtz]

You would have to ask Willie. I can't think of any reason to skate away from their net on that play.

He turned around after he deked out the dman and didn't see that dman fall. Poor awareness by him on that play, but hardly cowardice or anything of that nature.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Keefer you need to give some speed to play with .. he was trying in 3rd but was playing by himself as his line-mates could not keep up .. like in Habs series put him with Kerfoot it will open up Willy with someone who can keep up with him .. ROR at C so team can still grind with da line .. it will work try it .. da big guy

 

[shaner82]

You would have to ask Willie. I can't think of any reason to skate away from their net on that play.

There's just no way any NHL player would avoid a clear lane to the net. He was obviously not expecting to lose the Dman like that, and he was focusing solely on passing options for the next guy coming into the zone. I'm sure once he realized he had a clear path, it was too late. By then the other Dman caught up. It looks to us like he had a lot of time, but really, he had about 1-2 seconds to go to the net before he lost his opportunity.

Still, Nylander is an enigma.

 

[therealkoho]

What goal are you talking about? Their third? Tavares lost the faceoff, the play went behind the Leafs' net and out in front for a clear shot. The wide side wingers' job on a lost faceoff is the cover the point, which is what Willy did. Only someone who doesn't really understand positional hockey would blame Nylander on that goal.

Amazing that he can be so much better as soon as they get him away from Tavares.

I think this is something that people fail to understand. Will has more than enough talent to be great on his own no matter who he's playing with. Shouldn't he like Marner turn it up a couple of notches to find success instead of laying back and expecting the centre to find him goals?

Matthews production increases a bit with Mitch over Will. Mitch and the captain seem great together, Will however practically shuts down when playing with JT. Nobody else on the team does this.

I also find it weird that 34s production seems to fall off when paired with Will for more than a couple of games and doesn't get going again until MM rides in to save the day.

 

[Jojalu]

Nylander ended up with the most shots, the highest ×GF% and was better than most xGA.

He made a really odd choice to look for Matthews instead of going to the net but he was far from being checked out.

 

[mapleleaf979]

The fact that Nylander didnt even look when that dman fell is astonishing, im still stunned. Clear path to the net, he didnt even look at the net, he made his mind up already to pass. Mental engagement from Nylander is a major issue.

Nylander also had a prime scoring chance in the slot, he passed it off the side wall, another head scratching play. No mental engagement, no hunger to win. If he is in the slot with a swedish jersey on, he rifles that.

 

[leafan11]

Nylander ended up with the most shots, the highest ×GF% and was better than most xGA.

He made a really odd choice to look for Matthews instead of going to the net but he was far from being checked out.

Who cares about any of that nonsense. He’s been brutal for most of the playoffs. Ray Ferraro said it yst , he’s the one wild card that could tilt this series in our favor.

 

[Jojalu]

The fact that Nylander didnt even look when that dman fell is astonishing, im still stunned. Clear path to the net, he didnt even look at the net, he made his mind up already to pass. Mental engagement from Nylander is a major issue.

No doubt he made a poor decision.

The idea he wasn't mentally into the game is just wrong though.

By any way you look at the game, he was the most dangerous Leaf outside of Matthews.

Who cares about any of that nonsense. He’s been brutal for most of the playoffs. Ray Ferraro said it yst , he’s the one wild card that could tilt this series in our favor.

Correct.

But Nylander can't make JT or Knies score on passes from him

He can't force Bunting to get the puck to him earlier.

He had 7 shots and was buzzing all around. If he plays like that he will indeed be a factor

 

[The Best Leafs Everr]

He's trying to make it sound really bad.

First, Toronto only had five shots in the first - one each by Matthews, Marner, Kampf, Gio, and Schenn. Matthews' was on the PP (with Willy on the ice), and Mitch's was on the PK. So we had three shots at even strength (so with normal lines), and two were by the defencemen.

One even strength shot in the period by a forward - Kampf!

Second, why is it suddenly "Nylander's line" instead of Tavares'? Just because they didn't get a shot?

Willy had only 4:07 ice time in the first, including only 0:34 PP time. JT had 4:38 with a full 2:00 PP time. Shouldn't we be more worried about JT not getting a shot?

Wrong quote.

 

[therealkoho]

He is performing up to his pay. I don't like the deployment that Keefe is using in general and feel it's actually hindering us in these series. When it's desperation hockey Nylander is on beat.

You?

Honestly, maybe Will is hurt or something but the last couple of games v the Lightning and last night v the Panthers, while other guys are taking punishment to make plays Will is kind of gliding around and mostly somehow disinterested.

 

[leafan11]

Honestly the stars aligned for leafs to beat Tampa. Unless he picks his game up we’re not going to win this series.

 

[Menzinger]

I do feel the reaction to last night's game is a bit overblown, particularly with singling him out. None of the core guys managed to execute a goal. And ultimately, his very clear role on the team is to generate first and foremost high dangerous scoring chances- which he did more so than anybody.

He's such a bizarre hockey player. He willingly plunges into the opposition stacked 5 deep at the blue line and carves them like a cake several times per game. No fear of someone stepping up and Trouba on Meier-ing him.

But a contested lane, 50/50 one on one to cut to the net- nooooo thank-you, not enough room.

In those situations, I think the issue is he's first a foremost mentally looking to make a setup play rather than seeking to set up a goal opportunity for himself. People at home want him to just head straight to the net to try and force a shot, and in his mind he's looking to set his teammate up for the same opportunity

 

[PROUD PAPA]

Nylander is a frustrating player. He has the tremendous skills to be a difference maker but too often lacks the will to fully engage. Doesn't seem like the coaching staff has any idea how to bring out the best in him. Doesn't even look like Willie has the ability to bring out the best in himself, at least not on a regular basis. He sounded so motivated when he said "i'll be happy when we f'ing win something" but i'm not seeing an intense pursuit of happiness.
Nobody will care if we win the cup I suppose but IMHO he's not doing enough to make that happen.

 

[sxvnert]

Nylander is a frustrating player. He has the tremendous skills to be a difference maker but too often lacks the will to fully engage. Doesn't seem like the coaching staff has any idea how to bring out the best in him. Doesn't even look like Willie has the ability to bring out the best in himself, at least not on a regular basis. He sounded so motivated when he said "i'll be happy when we f'ing win something" but i'm not seeing an intense pursuit of happiness.
Nobody will care if we win the cup I suppose but IMHO he's not doing enough to make that happen.

Alexei Kovalev 2.0.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Depending on whether or not Nylander decides to show up in the playoffs this year, and how far the Leafs get, I think they should seriously entertain trading him. Sell high after he hit 40.. maybe package him up with one of our many bubble defensemen to get a real top pairing guy or something.. too many nights Nylander's salary is tied up to accomplish nothing.

 

[TorMapleJays]

He is going to score some massive goals for this team this year and we are lucky to have him.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

All of you keep trying to put Willy with Matty or JT .. fact is both are too slow for him .. Willy needs to play VERY VERY VERY fast .. he uses his skill best at super sonic speed .. it is why da best he has looked in playoffs was with Kerfoot against da Habs where he was by far our best player .. to me we put him on 3rd line with Kerfoot and let them run roughshod over Cats D who are slower .. use ROR as C with them to make sure we have coverage defensively

 

[IPS]

All of you keep trying to put Willy with Matty or JT .. fact is both are too slow for him .. Willy needs to play VERY VERY VERY fast .. he uses his skill best at super sonic speed .. it is why da best he has looked in playoffs was with Kerfoot against da Habs where he was by far our best player .. to me we put him on 3rd line with Kerfoot and let them run roughshod over Cats D who are slower .. use ROR as C with them to make sure we have coverage defensively

You're definitely correct about this. If Willy left UFA to go to Edmonton he would legit be a 120 point player beside McDavid, no exaggeration at all.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

You're definitely correct about this. If Willy left UFA to go to Edmonton he would legit be a 120 point player beside McDavid, no exaggeration at all.

Put him it Ryan McLeod and he would be close too .. he needs to play with someone else with wheels .. slowing him down to play possession hockey is not good for Willy .. it may help out JT or Matty who have no choice to play give and go hockey but it hurts team overall

 

[IPS]

Put him it Ryan McLeod and he would be close too .. he needs to play with someone else with wheels .. slowing him down to play possession hockey is not good for Willy .. it may help out JT or Matty who have no choice to play give and go hockey but it hurts team overall

For sure. I still think possession hockey is the way to go in the playoffs but you still need a line that's dangerous off the rush to mix things up.

 

[Drytoast]

re sign him. He should be swapping contract values with Tavares more or less. Taveres should come in at much cheaper. Problem is there is a year differential between the two.

Nylander has terrible defense. But he has great zone entries...a wicked touch in the offensive zone. From the neutral zone forward, he's awesome. From the blue line to our crease...not so much.

 

[banks]

Keep him at almost any cost. This is a guy who can turn a playoff game from a loss to a win.

 

[authentic]

Alexei Kovalev 2.0.

Funny enough both do pretty well in the playoffs. I think so far these playoffs his offensive play has been fine but his defensive game has been bad along with some horrible turnovers, but that also goes for several others on our team.