William Nylander appreciation thread

[Mess]

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.

Nylander may be taking a back seat on a line with the Leafs captain and simply playing the role of Robin to his Batman.

A subordinate role if you like, which may be stagnating his potential, as opposed to if he was on his own line and then expected to be Batman for his trio. If he was the clear star of his line he may be far more motivated with an increased role and responsibly particularly if he is moved to centre.

 

[Confucius]

William will showup when it counts...

 

[Stephen]

Nylander may be taking a back seat on a line with the Leafs captain and simply playing the role of Robin to his Batman.

A subordinate role if you like, which may be stagnating his potential, as opposed to if he was on his own line and then expected to be Batman for his trio. If he was the clear star of his line he may be far more motivated with an increased role and responsibly particularly if he is moved to centre.

Yeah at this point we kind of have to rethink the idea of a Big 4. Cause it’s really a Big 2, with a 3 and a 4. It’s not simply mix and match and Tavares Nylander don’t always work well together. So how do you manage a guy on an upward trajectory with a guy who is on a decline?

Tavares kind of reminds me of the Larry Murphy of forwards. His skating makes his 5 on 5 time look much worse and mistakes almost catastrophic whenever there’s a defensive breakdown. However, his statistical production is still pretty high caliber at a point a game and nursing a multi point streak.

So the truth is somewhere in between where you don’t get typical point a game forward quality every shift, the eye test looks dreadful but he finds ways to help at a pretty health rate.

Compared to Matthews it’s such a step down but I guess we should be looking at a ROR to see if there’s a game style that works for him when he’s fighting it.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Sad to say as I really like Willy but his play past few games has truly sucked .. he seems to be able to amp up his game to domination level and just as easily drop it down to below par .. I was hoping it would be over this year but not yet

 

[DarkKnight]

Bill gets some latitude because he’s been so good last playoffs, first part of this year, so he’s earned a slump buffer from fans. He’s still getting chances, but what I haven’t liked of late, he’s flat footed and isn’t hunting pucks in the D zone, way too stationary and passive.

 

[Confucius]

In our 32 playoff games the big 3 have 23, 24 and 25 points. one of them makes 60% of what the other 2 make. I'd think William is the keeper.

 

[Mess]

Bill gets some latitude because he’s been so good last playoffs, first part of this year, so he’s earned a slump buffer from fans. He’s still getting chances, but what I haven’t liked of late, he’s flat footed and isn’t hunting pucks in the D zone, way too stationary and passive.

Willy supplying 5 goals and 8 points in 7 playoff games last year certainly was promising was he was willing to step when it matters most, and some slight struggles now are blunted in any concern knowing he might be there when it really counts..

Its his other high priced $11 mil teammates that need to elevate their games and play come playoff time even if some are playing very well right now.

 

[Shooter2x]

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.

Noticed this too. Even in games that make me think "Nylander is really garbage today, he needs to step up " I can still pinpoint shifts he could have ended up with a multi point game.

It's fair to only point out assists though. Hes not sniping like he usually does. Putting up muffin shots.

 

[notbias]

Willy supplying 5 goals and 8 points in 7 playoff games last year certainly was promising was he was willing to step when it matters most, a some slight struggles are blunted in any concern knowing he might be there when it really counts..

Its his other high priced $11 mil teammates that need elevate their games and play come playoff time even if some our playing very well right now.

Nylander won't be shooting 25% every playoff series and Matthews won't be shooting 3%.

 

[Gabriel426]

Willy been playing bad since the COVID break. He is less alpha and really not dominating when he is on the Ice like before.
He is getting his points and goals but we don't see his Big Shot before and he seems a bit hesitant when he got the chance. Hope he snaps out of it soon.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Willy been playing bad since the COVID break. He is less alpha and really not dominating when he is on the Ice like before.
He is getting his points and goals but we don't see his Big Shot before and he seems a bit hesitant when he got the chance. Hope he snaps out of it soon.

His recent flaws line up with brain fog/fatigue that a lot of people see for a month or two after omicron, hopefully a problem that resolves itself soon.

 

[Menzinger]

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.

It's definitely noticable.

While I think part of his game has been a bit off, he's still been generating a ton of high danger chances for his linemates who haven't been able to capitalize on Nylanders work. The lines chemistry is definitely off right now

 

[DraftSchmaft]

[QUOTE="notbias, post: 182856937, member: 282459"]Nylander won't be shooting 25% every playoff series and Matthews won't be shooting 3%.[/QUOTE]

So you're saying 30% this time

 

[aingefan]

Willy needs to pick it up. He will.

Hitting that post the other night got him fired up, played pretty strong afterwards.

 

[Nylanderthal]

I wonder if the quick flip back to the original lines after saying they wanted to try out spreading the wealth a bit has anything to do with this slump. Not that he’s purposely playing worse with JT but is/was distracted by being bummed out by not getting a long look at running his own line.

 

[Confucius]

Willy needs to pick it up. He will.

Hitting that post the other night got him fired up, played pretty strong afterwards.

No, giving the puck away resulting in a goal got him fired up. Anyway I don't expect as much from William as I do the other 3, that's why he gets a pass and rarely criticized.

 

[Mess]

No, giving the puck away resulting in a goal got him fired up. Anyway I don't expect as much from William as I do the other 3, that's why he gets a pass and rarely criticized.

Nylander is the worst Leafs forward on the season in terms of +/-, with only Nick Ritchie and Kyle Clifford worse who are currently not on the roster.

He needs to tighten up his game away from the puck defensively and his give-aways.

 

[Confucius]

Nylander is the worst Leafs forward on the season in terms of +/-, with only Nick Ritchie and Kyle Clifford worse who are currently not on the roster.

He needs to tighten up his game away from the puck defensively and his give-aways.

Most say Plus minus is a reflection of the team and laugh when it is brought up. As for give aways that is a misleading stat. Crosby was maybe still has a high number of giveaways, if you carry the puck alot you have alot of givaways as opposed to the player that never touches the puck.

 

[Oscar Peterson]

Most say Plus minus is a reflection of the team and laugh when it is brought up. As for give aways that is a misleading stat. Crosby was maybe still has a high number of giveaways, if you carry the puck alot you have alot of givaways as opposed to the player that never touches the puck.

I looked it up on a website anyways, and apparently Nylander only has 16 giveaways on the season, which is just about the lowest of all the regulars, and is more impressive when you factor in how often he has the puck and the minutes he plays. Tavares apparently has 41 for comparison.

Not absolving Nylander of criticism because his performance as of late definitely warrants it, but I don't think giveaways are the big issue, was really unfortunate that the referee got in the way of that one puck. But yeah, he's gotta step it up. Not sure what happened with him, he's gotta get back to playing like the star player on his line. I did think his last 2 games were better than the previous 8 or so, but still. Thankfully Marner has gone absolutely god mode to compensate lol

 

[aingefan]

No, giving the puck away resulting in a goal got him fired up. Anyway I don't expect as much from William as I do the other 3, that's why he gets a pass and rarely criticized.

Either, both maybe.
Either way, he turned up the intensity and is gonna break through.

 

[saffronleaf]

Bill needs to be more engaged, especially without the puck.

 

[DarkKnight]

He’s too passive waiting for things to come to him, when he’s dynamic and effective, he’s making things happen, sharp, decisive and winning battles. Right now he’s just turning it on here or there, getting the odd cookie, but if you’re really watching his game he hasn’t been 200 foot of desire at all. It’s the little things, the attention to detail and fighting through a slump. He gets slack because he’s earned it, but that’s doesn’t mean he hasn’t just been meh for a while now.

Also, I loved him last year in the playoffs, but can we stop with the almost mythological performance now, it was a one round and we lost. It’s so Leafy.

 

[Sammy Kat]

I see the same stuff year in and year out with Willie.

Lots of skill
Plays great,when he is in the mood,or playing for Sweden.
Plays lousy when not in the mood and nothing will light a fire under him.
Loves loosey goosey style,hates tight checking,may disappear when hit a couple of times.
In wide open games can own the puck and be almost unstoppable.
Not a fan of playing in his own zone.

Everyone sees a surefire point a game 35 goal guy but he always comes up short.

Talent is there but his heart you can never be sure.

Tons of GM's will still love him and especially at that salary and I think the time to scoop up a nice haul for him is this off season after we crash and burn again in these playoffs.

 

[Stamkos4life]

I see the same stuff year in and year out with Willie.

Lots of skill
Plays great,when he is in the mood,or playing for Sweden.
Plays lousy when not in the mood and nothing will light a fire under him.
Loves loosey goosey style,hates tight checking,may disappear when hit a couple of times.
In wide open games can own the puck and be almost unstoppable.
Not a fan of playing in his own zone.

Everyone sees a surefire point a game 35 goal guy but he always comes up short.

Talent is there but his heart you can never be sure.

Tons of GM's will still love him and especially at that salary and I think the time to scoop up a nice haul for him is this off season after we crash and burn again in these playoffs.

Ever since his dominating performance at the world championship where he won mvp, I have been waiting for Nylander to take off in the NHL.

This is his 6th season and he still has never even been 1 ppg.

Yet some try and act like he is just as good or even better than marner, who has 415 points in 400 games.

He has all the skill in the world but he is missing a key ingredient.

 

[paulhiggins]

Dubas might consider shipping him out for a decent D that plays with an edge, but first give him a tip that if he doesn't engage physically there will be changes made.