Future Matthews vs future Nylander

[EP40 AKA Lil Wayne]

First off let me say that Matthews>Nylander, AINEC.

But there is something about Nylanders game that makes me think ’wow, this guy might just become the leafs (Edit: the best leafs) player one day’. Am I delusional

He got the skills and solid track record of evolving his game when put under pressare but how far can he go?

Matthews is going to be one of the best so Im not questioning him. And it might just be that Nylander looks damm good on his wing. But what do you say?

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[Nithoniniel]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Nylander has already become the Leafs player. So no, you are not delusional at all.

 

[Rogie]

He's GREAT. Some of it is due to the fact he's with Matthews - because if he moved at the speed he moves at with some other players he wouldn't get opportunities he gets; they're both playing 'fast and right'.

But, YEAH, he's great already.

 

[Pi]

We can have more than one elite player on the team.

Nylander reminds me of Seguin.

 

[ToneDog]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Nylander has already become the Leafs player. So no, you are not delusional at all.

Not a chance. Matthews > Nylander. The poster is delusional

 

[Diamond Joe Quimby]

Nylander is tremendous. Thinking he has a profoundly high ceiling is by no means an outlandish opinion.

Auston Matthews is currently, and for my money, will always be the more dominant, superior player. IMO, he will establish himself as the #2 player in the NHL for the next decade (behind McDavid).

That's not to say Nylander may not finish a season or two with a higher point total. I see the prime Leafs, if everything goes well health wise, similar to the 90's\early 00's Red Wings, with Nylander and Matthews playing the Fedorov\Yzerman roles.

 

[ToneDog]

Nylander is tremendous. Thinking he has a profoundly high ceiling is by no means an outlandish opinion.

Auston Matthews is currently, and for my money, will always be the more dominant, superior player. IMO, he will establish himself as the #2 player in the NHL for the next decade (behind McDavid).

That's not to say Nylander may not finish a season or two with a higher point total. I see the prime Leafs, if everything goes well health wise, similar to the 90's\early 00's Red Wings, with Nylander and Matthews playing the Fedorov\Yzerman roles.

Wow we agree again. When teams ask themselves who do we have to stop when they play the Leafs, the answer is Matthews. Playing with Matthews gives Nylander more room to freewheel. Ask your self how good would Nylander be if Matthews were not on the team and vice versa. I liken them to the Sittler and McDonald combo. Both HOFers.

 

[Brownbeard]

Matthews will likely be the better and most valuable, but hey...if there's a competition between the two and it's considered close for years to come I'm not going to complain. That'd be great. Especially with Marner in the fray and how good he can be.

 

[MJ65]

1st of all I am not a big fan of these comparison threads - most often these become war zone

Both Nylander and Matthews are good players and are going to contribute in different ways for years. Having said that Auston Matthews is and will always be a more dominant player

It;s not the opinion of the fan base but he was voted by experts as the 10th best player in the league and there is a reason for it

We should all be proud to have this kind of depth and talent on our roster

 

[DarkKnight]

Messier, Anderson. I'd mention the other Oiler tandem but

 

[RLF]

Nylander is a great talent as of course is Matthews. I think Matthews is the better centre and always will be, while Nylander would be the better winger. We may see Nylander as a centre at some point, but I don't think he will be as dominant as he is on Matthews wing. He will be good, but in a different way then Matthews. just mho

 

[NarcoPolo]

I think Nylander may have more room for growth in his game but whether or not he gets there has yet to be seen. No one on the leafs has his combination skating ability, puck skills, shot, and vision imo.

 

[Stephen]

Do you like Malkin better or Crosby. Do you like Sakic or Forsberg.

If all goes well, the two will go back and forth and make it difficult to answer even when their careers are over and they're on Legends Row.

 

[Duke16]

Both are amazing and need to stay together. I think we trade for a new centerman as a result.

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

Nylander will be an Elite, Elite 1st line Centre (reminds me a lot of Nick Backstrom but with a Much better shot)
Matthews is a Franchise Centre (generational?) and will be second to McDavid for years to come (he is more dominant in my opinion like Malkin with Kanes hands and plays a hard 2 way game...but McJesus is FAST)

Hyman - Matthews - Marner
Grundstrom - Nylander - Kappanen
______ - Kadri - Brown
Soshnikov - Gauthier - Rychel

Rielly - Liljegren
Gardiner - Zaitsev
Dermott - Borgman

Anderson
Pickard​

 

[MorrisSmit89]

If I had to choose between Matthews and Nylander.. I pick Matthews 101/100 times.. he's the superior player but Nylander is still my favourite. he's easily the most fun player to watch on the team as well.

 

[IPS]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Nylander has already become the Leafs player. So no, you are not delusional at all.

I respectfully disagree. That Swedish bias of yours really comes into play when you post about Nylander.

 

[Polaris1010]

First off let me say that Matthews>Nylander, AINEC.

But there is something about Nylanders game that makes me think ’wow, this guy might just become the leafs (Edit: the best leafs) player one day’. Am I delusional

When the game was on the line Saturday night, such as the 1st period and 3rd period, guess who stepped up to win the game?

It was the defensive pairing of Gardiner + Zaitsev and the Matthews line all three of them.

William Nylander won the MVP of the previous World Championship tournament. He can play on a big stage.

He did not exactly fly off the wing either to make those plays, he came at the opposition every which way he could think of. Leafs going to move him to center sooner or later.

IMHO what we are seeing is a franchise center in Nylander.

 

[thewave]

Matthews is a bit better but Nylander is right up there. I think it's a waste having him play with Matthews. He is ready for a line of his own and could probably fix the current Bozak line on his own.

 

[Nithoniniel]

I respectfully disagree. That Swedish bias of yours really comes into play when you post about Nylander.

Read my post again. OP initially wrote that Nylander can become "the Leafs player." I simply pointed out that Nylander is already the Leafs player.

As for Swedish bias, I have one for sure. Swedish media has a tendency to rose-color absolutely everything our NHL players does which annoys me to no end, so I tend to have a slight bias against them.

 

[rent free]

both of them in the future will be scary good

 

[Joey Hoser]

I don't agree but it's not outrageous.

We can argue about the value of one being a 6'3 and already a pure center, and speculate about the future, but as far as performance-to-date, there's actually very little separating the two.

Matthews has been incredibly efficient with his opportunities, but I might argue Nylander has been better at generating them.

 

[Polaris1010]

As for Swedish bias, I have one for sure. Swedish media has a tendency to rose-color absolutely everything our NHL players does which annoys me to no end, so I tend to have a slight bias against them.

There's nothing wrong with being a fan!

Every time Nylander touches the puck these pass two games, he looks like he is going to be a force out there. The game breaker, that is what he is.

Can the Leafs have three potential game breakers on three different lines?

Go Leafs Go!

 

[ponder]

It's possible Nylander becomes better, but I'd be surprised. IMO Matthews is better right now despite being in his draft+2 season vs. Nylander's draft+4 season, and that experience makes a big difference at this age. Matthews has a big advantage in size and strength that Nylander can never match. Nylander has an advantage in speed an silky-smooth finesse, but even with that and his extra experience he's only a bit more effective than Matthews on the perimeter, while Matthews has a big advantage on the board, in front of the net, and in traffic in general.

I think Matthews has a chance to become the 2nd best player in the league, and is a near lock to regularly be a top 10 centre. In contrast I see Nylander being along the lines of a Seguin level player in his best case (though a bit more pass first), and a slightly poor man's Kuznetsov in his worst case. He's a top notch talent too, but not as elite as Matthews IMO. Can't understate how rare and valuable it is to have a true power centre with elite skills and a 2-way game. Just look at how good guys like Getzlaf/Toews/Kopitar/E. Staal have been, and I don't think any of them are as naturally talented as Matthews.

Regardless, just crazy psyched to have 3 amazing talents like Matthews/Nylander/Marner, especially with so many other good young players to support them!

 

[TheProspector]

Nylander is the better player today. He's a 21-year old Pavel Datsyuk. And his numbers so far suggest that he's on track to being in contention for the best Swede of all-time. (Of course, Matthews could end up in the same conversation for US players.)

Willie is faster, has better edges, and is already one of the best passers in league.