William Nylander has the opportunity to re-write history and add millions to the value of his next contract, with Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe trialling the unflappable Swede at centre in the first week of training camp.
There has been no shortage of noise around the 27-year-old lately, as he enters the final year of the six-year contract he inked with the Maple Leafs after controversial extension talks rumbled into the autumn of 2018.
Nylander has since proven his worth in Toronto and is set to earn a significant raise on his current $7.5 million salary cap charge, which leaves Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving walking a fiscal tightrope as he attempts to strike new terms with the former first round pick.
The Maple Leafs have already locked superstar forward Auston Matthews into a landmark extension, squeezing the cap space Treliving can allocate to Nylander and, two years further down the line, hometown hero winger Mitch Marner.
With that in mind, Toronto’s decision to trial Nylander at centre in the first week of the preseason raises serious questions for all parties. Ultimately, though, it is a move that could benefit everyone – including captain John Tavares, who could be the next megabucks forward to change position in the months ahead.
Why are the Maple Leafs testing William Nylander at centre?
There are a handful of reasons why the Maple Leafs are taking another look at Nylander through the middle, not least because he was drafted as a centreman.
Nylander also has the offensive talent required to roam throughout the final third and has previously spoken about his desire to play the position more regularly.
“You have more options,” the Calgary-born forward said when asked about playing centre in 2018. “In the middle, I can go right or left versus when I’m playing right wing, going into the middle is kinda hard — I mean, guys are backchecking and stuff so usually you can only use the outside.”
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs (Image: NHL)
Nylander’s attacking skill set makes his adjustment relatively straightforward – he’s an elite skater, with an underrated shot and silky mitts. He would also give the Maple Leafs a right-handed faceoff option, which is never a bad thing in a league dominated by lefties.
However, defensive warts are built into Nylander’s game – which is why he has spent the bulk of his seven-year career in North America on the wing.
If William Nylander moves to centre full-time, what will it mean for the Maple Leafs?
If Nylander can stick it out at centre, the number of offensive configurations available to Keefe will increase exponentially.
The Maple Leafs have opened training camp with a three-headed monster through centre ice, with Mathews, Tavares, and Nylander each centring lines of their own.
Deploying Nylander as a third-line centre would effectively deepen Toronto’s offensive threat, with the Maple Leafs top attacking players split across three lines instead of two:
- Tyler Bertuzzi – Auston Matthews – Mitch Marner
- Matthew Knies – John Tavares – Sam Lafferty
- Nick Roberson – William Nylander – Max Domi
- Calle Järnkrok – David Kämpf – Ryan Reaves
“I want to give it some time to come together just to see what that looks like,” Keefe said of moving Nylander to centre. “Willy’s been fully on board. He’s totally comfortable playing centre. It’s not a huge leap from my position, just something we haven’t given a whole lot of runway with.”
Alternatively, the Maple Leafs could elevate Nylander to the role of second-line centreman, with Tavares – whose footspeed has declined in recent years – moving to the flank.
Will William Nylander re-sign with the Maple Leafs?
There is no doubt that Nylander’s preference is to remain a member of the Maple Leafs – he relishes life in Toronto’s goldfish bowl media environment and has produced impressive results when it most matters (the playoffs).
Whenever asked about his plans for the future, Nylander is unequivocal – he wants to stay.
“I want to be here and this is where I want to play,” he said on Thursday. “But I’m going to let my agent [Lewis Gross] and Brad [Treliving] take care of that and I’m not going to answer any more questions about my contract.”
Treliving, for what it’s worth, is also keen to keep Nylander in the Six.
“We’ll try to get it done,” Treliving said on Wednesday, “we’ll work with Lewis and see where it gets to.”
With that, the only question is whether the Maple Leafs can meet Nylander’s contract demands, with the charismatic forward coveting a new deal worth around $10 million per season.
While Treliving may struggle to justify a seven-figure cap hit for an offence-minded winger, the situation will be recalibrated if Nylander proves his worth as a centreman.
It would also reverse the narrative that the flight-footed Swede is only effective at one of the ice.
Let’s see how this plays out.
