William Nylander

[notDatsyuk]

I still remember Sunday, and the past 9 yrs. I know some are trying change the narrative, like every other year, but we all saw it and the reality doesn’t change.

I didn't say reality changed.

 

[ashs]

Would u rather have marner or Willie at the same salary?

For me, Willies D lacks.

 

[ULF_55]

Would u rather have marner or Willie at the same salary?

For me, Willies D lacks.

I'll go with Nylander.

Just so much less noise, and he didn't have a secret wedding with a teammate.

 

[The Shadow]

What kind of player would be a good fit for Nylander?

I guess someone that can find him for those breakaways and dig pucks out of the corners so Nylander can cycle and dangle

Also someone with speed that can get those dumpins like Florida does

Who do you guys think ?

 

[ahmedou]

 

[thewave]

What kind of player would be a good fit for Nylander?

I guess someone that can find him for those breakaways and dig pucks out of the corners so Nylander can cycle and dangle

Also someone with speed that can get those dumpins like Florida does

Who do you guys think ?

Players with speed and willingness to go in the corners. Be nice to see him with Matthews and Knies. I don't think Nylander needs much to work with to get top performances out of linemates.

 

[Rare Jewel]

What kind of player would be a good fit for Nylander?

I guess someone that can find him for those breakaways and dig pucks out of the corners so Nylander can cycle and dangle

Also someone with speed that can get those dumpins like Florida does

Who do you guys think ?

Willie needs a good two-way center, preferably with a fair bit more speed than JT. If there's a hard-working grinder type who can play on the other side, that would be even better.

I'm not sure who that player is.

There have been some interesting names thrown around, like William Karlsson in Vegas.

 

[Confucius]

Players with speed and willingness to go in the corners. Be nice to see him with Matthews and Knies. I don't think Nylander needs much to work with to get top performances out of linemates.

I’d think JT is a better fit than Mathews, had they had Knies instead of Holmberg we would have faired better. Even if they left Mcmann with William it would have been better.

 

[thewave]

I’d think JT is a better fit than Mathews, had they had Knies instead of Holmberg we would have faired better. Even if they left Mczmann with William it would have been better.

Oh for sure. Berube did nothing though. Pin a lot of that loss on him.

 

[Menzinger]

What kind of player would be a good fit for Nylander?

I guess someone that can find him for those breakaways and dig pucks out of the corners so Nylander can cycle and dangle

Also someone with speed that can get those dumpins like Florida does

Who do you guys think ?

They should build a line around him similar to how the Pens got the most out of Phil during their cup runs.

Be able to keep up in terms of speed and help cover his defensive lapses. He can take care of the rest

 

[IPS]

Players with speed and willingness to go in the corners. Be nice to see him with Matthews and Knies. I don't think Nylander needs much to work with to get top performances out of linemates.

People are way overthinking this

He took Kerfoot and Galchenyuk and significantly outperformed Matthews/Marner against Montreal, apparently philip Danault was too difficult to deal with while Willy carried the offence almost single handedly.

Berube was an absolute moron saddling Willy with a slug playing at 20% of the speed as everyone else. You had a buzzing Domi who would have been a far better linemate, as Willy has shown plenty of times in the past he can carry lesser linemates.

Looking back, Berube made a few dumb decisions in the Florida series.

 

[mapleleaf979]

What kind of player would be a good fit for Nylander?

I guess someone that can find him for those breakaways and dig pucks out of the corners so Nylander can cycle and dangle

Also someone with speed that can get those dumpins like Florida does

Who do you guys think ?

That sounds like Zach Hyman to me. He doesnt mind when Nylander is being a bit of a puck hog or lazy, he just keeps working. Nylander has not consistent chemistry with any Leafs team-mate in his career. Its just flashes here and there. He is tough line-mate to have for 82 games. Nylander checked out in the playoffs vs Florida right after Tkachuk told him, he was gonna get him.

 

[KAWAIlllI]

That sounds like Zach Hyman to me. He doesnt mind when Nylander is being a bit of a puck hog or lazy, he just keeps working. Nylander has not consistent chemistry with any Leafs team-mate in his career. Its just flashes here and there. He is tough line-mate to have for 82 games. Nylander checked out in the playoffs vs Florida right after Tkachuk told him, he was gonna get him.

lol. No, he checked out when Florida changed and put their best line and D-pair on Nylanders line.

Nylander should try to change his mindset some though. He needs to add mindset and try to engage a bit more. You don’t want to take away his offensive instincts, but it would be nice to see him adding to his game, but I think that’s asking for much now sadly. Send him to Sharks!

 

[thewave]

lol. No, he checked out when Florida changed and put their best line and D-pair on Nylanders line.

Nylander should try to change his mindset some though. He needs to add mindset and try to engage a bit more. You don’t want to take away his offensive instincts, but it would be nice to see him adding to his game, but I think that’s asking for much now sadly. Send him to Sharks!

You do understand how strange this sounds. Nylander was used like bait to occupy the time of their big boys and Matthews and Marner did nothing. Knies was the big driver on that line.

Berube was a big time dope in his coaching. It was ridiculous. Nylander and Holmberg? Why not just forefit the series, that's the level of bad his coaching was.

In multiple series, Nylander is being treated as the top line threat. Not MM and AM, that's because they are weak in physical situations especially Marner.

 

[KAWAIlllI]

You do understand how strange this sounds. Nylander was used like bait to occupy the time of their big boys and Matthews and Marner did nothing. Knies was the big driver on that line.

Berube was a big time dope in his coaching. It was ridiculous. Nylander and Holmberg? Why not just forefit the series, that's the level of bad his coaching was.

In multiple series, Nylander is being treated as the top line threat. Not MM and AM, that's because they are weak in physical situations especially Marner.

Ah that’s kinda what I meant though - it was a failure by the coaching staff to not put Nylander in another surrounding, failure by the management to not find him some proper linemates.

But it would be nice if he added some bite/D to his game as well

 

[The Shadow]

This interview Berube talks about Nylander at 47:00 and how they will demand more from him

I love to hear that

 

[thewave]

This interview Berube talks about Nylander at 47:00 and how they will demand more from him

I love to hear that

I find this a bit strange though. Demand more from him how? Play him with an even older and slower JT? Holmberg? I want more from Willy too but Berube has to be creative as well. If it's Knies Matthews Willy as a line or Domi AM WN and Knies supporting JT that's a fine ask. If it's Willy and some slow trash that doesn't cut it. I blame a lot of that series loss on Berube.

I honestly think Berube is a bit of a dope and although his style is a winning one, the fact he can not handle mid game adjustments or series adjustments is a big red flag. He won his first year with STL. They were progressively worse after that.

 

[KAWAIlllI]

I find this a bit strange though. Demand more from him how? Play him with an even older and slower JT? Holmberg? I want more from Willy too but Berube has to be creative as well. If it's Knies Matthews Willy as a line or Domi AM WN and Knies supporting JT that's a fine ask. If it's Willy and some slow trash that doesn't cut it. I blame a lot of that series loss on Berube.

I honestly think Berube is a bit of a dope and although his style is a winning one, the fact he can not handle mid game adjustments or series adjustments is a big red flag. He won his first year with STL. They were progressively worse after that.

I think it’s fair to ask Willy to at least try to play a more..”complete” game.

 

[thewave]

I think it’s fair to ask Willy to at least try to play a more..”complete” game.

You know he was a -1 in that series against their best pretty much. That's good, maybe it didn't look great to you in it's representation but he did really well lol

 

[KAWAIlllI]

You know he was a -1 in that series against their best pretty much. That's good, maybe it didn't look great to you in it's representation but he did really well lol

Oh I know, but I’m also aware of his play style - he has a tendency to not throw that extra check, or let go of a lose play. I still think he’s been Torontos best forward the last couple of playoffs, as well as this regular seasons, but ofc he also has his frustrating moments

 

[studebaker17]

You know he was a -1 in that series against their best pretty much. That's good, maybe it didn't look great to you in it's representation but he did really well lol

You keep saying that . He wasn't against their best if you mean Barkov for the most part not that it matters that much with how Florida can send 3 very good defensive lines out . They did play Forsling / Ekblad against him a lot .
Florida really doesn't have any weak lines ,at least ones you can get a missmatch against.

Barkov / Reinhart against Mathews / Marner i'd expect zero goals for either team head to head at 5 on 5 . That's 4 of the top 6 or 8 best defensive forwards in the league .

 

[KAWAIlllI]

You keep saying that . He wasn't against their best if you mean Barkov for the most part not that it matters that much with how Florida can send 3 very good defensive lines out . They did play Forsling / Ekblad against him a lot .
Florida really doesn't have any weak lines ,at least ones you can get a missmatch against.

Barkov / Reinhart against Mathews / Marner i'd expect zero goals for either team head to head at 5 on 5 . That's 4 of the top 6 or 8 best defensive forwards in the league .

What does all that even mean? Sure, the 2nd line didn’t have success vs the Barkov line + Forsling, but the 1st line didn’t have that and couldn’t succeed vs Floridas other “very good defensive lines” either, which the 2nd line could at least

 

[studebaker17]

What does all that even mean? Sure, the 2nd line didn’t have success vs the Barkov line + Forsling, but the 1st line didn’t have that and couldn’t succeed vs Floridas other “very good defensive lines” either, which the 2nd line could at least

Just keep reading false info how Nyander was facing the top line all the time when he wasn't . Arguably the top D pair which does mean a lot but not the top defensive forward line . End of the day , no line had " easy" match ups .

 

[Pebble live]

Players with speed and willingness to go in the corners. Be nice to see him with Matthews and Knies. I don't think Nylander needs much to work with to get top performances out of linemates.

If Marner and JT are gone Willy will need to drive his own line. Pair him with a couple of big bodies that can create space for him on a 2nd line.

 

[Fogelhund]

I have a couple of different mindsets on line building with Nylander. I agree with a lot of what people here are saying, that JT is a bit too slow, and Holmberg was a terrible decision, as he really doesn't have NHL offensive upside. Patches was better, but again slow, though he had puck digging abilities.

Holmberg - JT - Nylander... 2 goals for 4 against.
Patches - JT - Nylander 6 goals for 2 against

Both lines were terrible in possession though, so it's possible with a great sample set, that it wouldn't have worked out well for either line.

On the flip side McMann - JT - Nylander had good possession stats... 1 goal for, 1 against. McMann can play physical, work the boards, and has some speed.

If we are lucky enough to do a sign and trade with Vegas... Marner for Karlsson... I think Karlsson makes a much better C for Nylander than JT. McMann - Karlsson - Nylander gives a very speedy line... Karlsson is 83rd percentile, McMann is 95th and Nylander is 68th... though his ability to move and control the puck is incredible. This is a pretty balanced, and fast line.

On the other hand, a guy like Ehlers is 94th percentile in speed, and him instead of McMann gives a ton of talent on one line... though it's a bit soft.

Given my preference is balance... I'd probably go with McMann - Karlsson - Nylander as a second line.

Knies - Matthews - Ehlers would probably make a good first line.