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William Nylander

Twine Tickler said:
I think Willy's Laissez-faire attitude on a day to day basis was once mistaken by our fanbase as uninspired or unmotivated. I know I was certainly guilty of having that logic. But I think we've all come to realize that the very attitude we once thought was a weakness is arguably Willy's greatest strength. Certainly in this market.

Willy never gets too high or too low. Its why he tends to stand out in a positive way when everyone around him is seemingly stuck in the mud.

I think with all the behind the scenes footage we have had access to over the years, we have come to realize as a fanbase never to question Willy's desire to win. While Mitch and Auston always say how much of an honor it is to be a Leaf and how much they love playing in Toronto, I will never lose sight of the fact that Willy was the only one of the 3 to commit to us for 8 years. Willy wants to be a Leaf, and he wants to win as a Leaf. He doesn't just talk the talk, he backs it up with his actions. Not just with his on ice play, but he has shown a commitment to this team that arguably no one other than Mo can stack up to.

To me that means something. I have a very long leash for Willy as a result
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He signed 6 years the first time. Marner wanted 8 but Dubas insisted on 6.
Marner hasn't had the opportunity to sign for 8 yet, that will be this summer.
(Unless Marner isn't part of the 3 you're referring to)
 
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Madap said:
He does leave you wanting more on the defensive end which can be frustrating because you know he has the talent to do it.

But at the end of the day, I’m with you. He’s grown into our second best offensive player, but he does it more consistently regardless of if he’s playing with holmberg, jarnkrok, whoever. And he does it all with staying pretty even keel and with no complaints. Easy to root for the guy.
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There are some WTF moments with him for sure. I never get upset about it though because everyone looks bad sometimes and I know I can count on him to bring it when it matters most - the playoffs!
 
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Gary Nylund said:
There are some WTF moments with him for sure. I never get upset about it though because everyone looks bad sometimes and I know I can count on him to bring it when it matters most - the playoffs!
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That’s go to every and any players.

Not defending him per se, but overall, I am very happy with Willie over the past years and to me he deserves the least criticisms among the Core 5. As he makes the least(50% less than AM, MM and JT) while producing at similar or better in the playoffs and regular seasons.
 
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Gabriel426 said:
That’s go to every and any players.

Not defending but overall, I am very happy with Willie over the past years and to me he deserves the least criticisms among the Core 5. As he makes the least(50% less than AM, MM and JT) while producing at similar or better in the playoffs and regular seasons.
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The idea that Willy is terrible defensively really doesn't hold water. 6th among forwards in +/- the last 3 seasons while playing with JT, whose only real defensive skill is winning faceoffs, and an assortment of mediocre wingers. It's not like he was playing with a Selke-calibre centre.

Some posters were calling for his head a few games back because he didn't hustle back on a 3on4 that ended up in a goal, while Mitch doing the same on a 4on4 the next game earned nothing but the comment "Matty was slow coming back".
 
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notDatsyuk said:
The idea that Willy is terrible defensively really doesn't hold water. 6th among forwards in +/- the last 3 seasons while playing with JT, whose only real defensive skill is winning faceoffs, and an assortment of mediocre wingers. It's not like he was playing with a Selke-calibre centre.

Some posters were calling for his head a few games back because he didn't hustle back on a 3on4 that ended up in a goal, while Mitch doing the same on a 4on4 the next game earned nothing but the comment "Matty was slow coming back".
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It’s just deflection so they can somehow justify that Marner is better than Nylander. Last night Marner blew the d zone twice in the 3rd period, just crickets. If Willy does it, he’s lazy and cheats.

I’m not a huge fan of +/-, but Marner is +7, Willy is +6.
 
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GoonieFace said:
It’s just deflection so they can somehow justify that Marner is better than Nylander. Last night Marner blew the d zone twice in the 3rd period, just crickets. If Willy does it, he’s lazy and cheats.

I’m not a huge fan of +/-, but Marner is +7, Willy is +6.
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Plus he's just terrible without Matthews too. Those 2 goals and 2 assists - just all thanks to Matthews, horrible game by Willy really.
 
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ACC1224 said:
He signed 6 years the first time. Marner wanted 8 but Dubas insisted on 6.
Marner hasn't had the opportunity to sign for 8 yet, that will be this summer.
(Unless Marner isn't part of the 3 you're referring to)
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Marner wanted to sign for 8 years ?At what number? I’m pretty sure he wanted 5 and dubas gave him 6 so he wouldn’t come up the same time as Matthews again to piggy bacc for a number close to his but I’d love to see where he wanted 8 though and what the projected number was for his asking price
 
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@ACC1224 feel free to show where you got your info from it’s like everything you guys say needs to be fact ✅ cause you guys continuously throw fake news out there …..https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/marners-camp-reportedly-asking-for-richest-bridge-deal-in-nhl-history-181930810.html that’s the link for anyone interested
 

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GoonieFace said:
It’s just deflection so they can somehow justify that Marner is better than Nylander. Last night Marner blew the d zone twice in the 3rd period, just crickets. If Willy does it, he’s lazy and cheats.

I’m not a huge fan of +/-, but Marner is +7, Willy is +6.
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Do you remember when the Marner PR crew wet their pants at Mitch being mentioned for the Hart earlier in the year and argued his case because he was so far ahead in points as the next Leaf?

1743017795819.png


Now look at what a true MVP looks like

1743017829957.png
 
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notDatsyuk said:
The idea that Willy is terrible defensively really doesn't hold water. 6th among forwards in +/- the last 3 seasons while playing with JT, whose only real defensive skill is winning faceoffs, and an assortment of mediocre wingers. It's not like he was playing with a Selke-calibre centre.

Some posters were calling for his head a few games back because he didn't hustle back on a 3on4 that ended up in a goal, while Mitch doing the same on a 4on4 the next game earned nothing but the comment "Matty was slow coming back".
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When I said not defending, I didn’t mean Willie not defending. I meant that I am not defending Willie. Sorry for the confusion. Didn’t realise it till you replied.

I think Willie is great at taking away and hounding for pucks in the Ozone and Neutral Zone. He does seem to have his struggles in positioning in the Dzone when his line is being hemmed in the Dzone. But with Carlo, McCabe, and Tanev, that should help with that.
 
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ToneDog said:
Do you remember when the Marner PR crew wet their pants at Mitch being mentioned for the Hart earlier in the year and argued his case because he was so far ahead in points as the next Leaf?

View attachment 999878
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Hmmm... they're that close in points?

When you consider that Nylander has about twice as many goals and plays with Matthews less often, I'd say it's about a wash between them offensively this season.

I do think Marner is better defensively, but he hasn't been that impressive in general lately. Was playing great hockey earlier in the year.
 
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