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William Nylander appreciation thread

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ULF_55 said:
Doesn't look as sharp right now.

Perhaps other teams are paying more attention to them now?
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what I've noticed is that kerfoot/willy will be in the o-zone while JT is still catching up.

Either Kerf and Willy slow their game down a bit or JT needs to speed up a bit.

Also, I've noticed Willy can protect the puck now near the boards better than he did prior but Kerfoot is a toss up; sometimes he can and sometimes he cannot; I hope JT as a 3rd guy in (almost always) pays attention to that. This would only help that line.

heck may be Keefe can try Tavares-Kerfoot-Nylander; let kerfoot play center and JT left wing
 
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Nylander needs a friend. Kerfoot doesn't have the edge work , hands or strength to cycle like Nylander and JT has ditched play maker mode. Recently he will try to dangle and shoot and forgets his team mates are even there. He only passes now If it's something obvious like that Sandin goal.
 
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Nylander needs to get back to how he was playing earlier in the season. He doesn't seem to have the same energy and compete level. Not sure what any issue could be, possibly just the midseason blahs, but we need him fully engaged. When he is he's deadly and a handful for the opposition.
 
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Menzinger said:
Lot of roster turnover will happen between now and when his contract is over (meaning salary can/will be freed up(. But I'm fairly confident that if management wants him, he'll stay a Leaf. The cap itself will also continue to rise over the next few seasons.

Edit: the cap in particular is looking to have a large bump just as Nylander and Matthews contracts expire. Timing couldn't be better for the Leafs NHL salary cap will rise $1M next season, Bettman confirms - TSN.ca
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Mathews contract is up at the same time.

Iam hoping that JT realizes that his skating and talents have finished enough that he retires. Right now you can see that his skating is an issue.
Can you buy out the last yr of his contract with he having a NMC.
 
ZEBROA said:
Not his best right now. But with a little help from his friend Tavares , things might turn around soon. Scary close in points.
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its ok hopefully William and JT takeoff when the others cool down. I'd actually prefer it that way, over eveyone hot and cold at the same time.
 
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Confucius said:
its ok hopefully William and JT takeoff when the others cool down. I'd actually prefer it that way, over eveyone hot and cold at the same time.
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Yep. Nylander was on fire helping to carry the team when Mitch was off to a slow start.

Now Mitch is carrying Nylander.

Just once I would like to see both lines on fire in the playoffs though
 
Willie has looked pretty flaccid for the last 5 or 6 games although he had a couple of flashes against the Isles and Wings, but still mostly perimeter and disinterested play

before that he was more than I hoped he would be and some nights looked like the best Leaf on the ice

hopefully he gets over whatever is bugging him, nagging at him or whatever! because they need him to get back behind the wheel and drive that second line

over the last 5 games

Kerf 5 points
JT 4 points
Will 3 points

it's not really awful, but they definitely haven't been as much of a consistent threat over the last week and a half. The Leafs have been getting production from lower down which is normally a bonus, it's just not something they should be relying on to get them the W's.

As we all know the first two lines are the ones that have to do the most damage, Willie and JT really need to get their motors going as the Leafs head into the clubhouse turn and set their sights on the home stretch
 
Jojalu said:
Yep. Nylander was on fire helping to carry the team when Mitch was off to a slow start.

Now Mitch is carrying Nylander.

Just once I would like to see both lines on fire in the playoffs though
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Well tbf we had that 5-6 game stretch where the big 4 scored every goal…but yea I’d love to see them clicking for an extended period of time
 
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therealkoho said:
Willie has looked pretty flaccid for the last 5 or 6 games although he had a couple of flashes against the Isles and Wings, but still mostly perimeter and disinterested play

before that he was more than I hoped he would be and some nights looked like the best Leaf on the ice

hopefully he gets over whatever is bugging him, nagging at him or whatever! because they need him to get back behind the wheel and drive that second line

over the last 5 games

Kerf 5 points
JT 4 points
Will 3 points

it's not really awful, but they definitely haven't been as much of a consistent threat over the last week and a half. The Leafs have been getting production from lower down which is normally a bonus, it's just not something they should be relying on to get them the W's.

As we all know the first two lines are the ones that have to do the most damage, Willie and JT really need to get their motors going as the Leafs head into the clubhouse turn and set their sights on the home stretch
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He crashed the net at least 4 times during the last 2 games.
 
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PromisedLand said:
what I've noticed is that kerfoot/willy will be in the o-zone while JT is still catching up.

Either Kerf and Willy slow their game down a bit or JT needs to speed up a bit.

Also, I've noticed Willy can protect the puck now near the boards better than he did prior but Kerfoot is a toss up; sometimes he can and sometimes he cannot; I hope JT as a 3rd guy in (almost always) pays attention to that. This would only help that line.

heck may be Keefe can try Tavares-Kerfoot-Nylander; let kerfoot play center and JT left wing
Click to expand...
Well you want your C to generally be the high man anyhow. Wingers can blow the zone. Sounds like the current configuration works
 
Willy and JT will get back to being awesome again after the break..I’m counting on it...but if Dubas wants to hit a real homerun here...he should work some magic to bring in Claude Giroux...can you imagine a top 6 like this:
Bunting-Matty-Mitch
Giroux-JT-Nylander

Now that would be pretty close to impossible for any opposition to stop
 
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TIGERCOOL said:
love the guy but right now he's playing like the dude our collective drunken uncle is always complaining about. checked out, floating, missing defensive assignments. this extended stretch has been the lowest effort hockey I've ever seen from him. something's off mentally.
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He looks off since the team got covid.
 
I think Tavares is dragging him down a bit, but Nylander's play has also slipped compared to earlier in the season. He needs a center who can keep up when he's flying. When Nylander tries to get going but Tavares is stuck in neutral or fighting the puck for whatever reason, everything is off.
 
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Stephen said:
I think Tavares is dragging him down a bit, but Nylander's play has also slipped compared to earlier in the season. He needs a center who can keep up when he's flying. When Nylander tries to get going but Tavares is stuck in neutral or fighting the puck for whatever reason, everything is off.
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Something is definitely off with that 2nd line as their negative +/- players on a team near the top of the standings with a +42 goal differential.

Why so many goals against at 5v5 despite both players being essentially PPG players?
 
Kerfoot and Tavares robbed this guy a good 10 assists the past month. This is why that line needs a new LW. Even when Nylander sucks he's still going to have a couple plays a game that can lead to a goal. Sorry but it's Tavares, I'm not sacrificing him. Has to be Kerfoot.
 
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Mess said:
Something is definitely off with that 2nd line as their negative +/- players on a team near the top of the standings with a +42 goal differential.

Why so many goals against at 5v5 despite both players being essentially PPG players?
Click to expand...

I’m kind of looking past points when discussing Nylander and Tavares cause still manage to get their cookies here and there. But they look so out of sync on a 5 on 5 shift together that the stats line doesn’t tell the whole picture.

Nylander looks like he wants to fly and he’s losing focus waiting around and Tavares looks like he’s snow showing on the attack and water skiing on the back check. I think the captain needs to figure it out. Maybe the best course of action is to build a muck it up line with Tavares, Kase and another grind guy and they can disrupt while Tavares gets his head on right.
 
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Stephen said:
I’m kind of looking past points when discussing Nylander and Tavares cause still manage to get their cookies here and there. But they look so out of sync on a 5 on 5 shift together that the stats line doesn’t tell the whole picture.

Nylander looks like he wants to fly and he’s losing focus waiting around and Tavares looks like he’s snow showing on the attack and water skiing on the back check. I think the captain needs to figure it out. Maybe the best course of action is to build a muck it up line with Tavares, Kase and another grind guy and they can disrupt while Tavares gets his head on right.
Click to expand...

I think Keefe is seeing what you're describing when he moved Nylander to his own line during a recent reshuffling, and off the JT line although Kerfoot and Kampf aren't really strong support players for Willy.

A Mikheyev -- Tavares -- Kase line might work as you suggest.

My suggestion is to move Willy to centre on his own line and put Marner on his RW and let Leafs 2 X #1C drive their own lines.
 
Mess said:
I think Keefe is seeing what you're describing when he moved Nylander to his own line during a recent reshuffling, and off the JT line although Kerfoot and Kampf aren't really strong support players for Willy.

A Mikheyev -- Tavares -- Kase line might work as you suggest.

My suggestion is to move Willy to centre on his own line and put Marner on his RW and let Leafs 2 X #1C drive their own lines.
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t mind trying Nylander on his own line for a prolonged period of time. He was on such a higher trajectory earlier in the season and you want to see him put together a complete season as a superstar. And then repeat.
 
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