Joe Thornton VS William Nylander

[meefer]

...is easily negated by his slowness, which would be a huge handicap when the other team gets the puck.

A concern, yes, but given the 5>4 advantage, it's a risk I'd be willing to take, unless your concern proves it a bad idea. I'd like to see it, I'm not married to it.

 

[meefer]

If Toronto can't get the puck to the outside shooter(Matthews) then that is on them. They are far too talented a group to not figure it out. Tampa Bay continues to get the puck to Stamkos on the outside when he's playing(and not injured) and Washington continues to find Ovechkin on the outside.

By putting Matthews on the outside it forces the team to play a more relaxed box which should open up the middle of the ice for Tavares/Marner/Nylander. Here's the kicker, you can't be stagnant. The Leaf's biggest issue on their powerplay is they allowed teams to keep them to the outside by standing still. Teams ran aggressive penalty kills against Toronto. If Toronto was moving, this would be a dream. Instead they were standing still and it became a nightmare for the PP. Which is why that heavily loaded first PP struggled for good parts of the year. It's like the 4 of them believed the hype that they were going to be unstoppable...And they were out to prove the media wrong.

Regardless of how they set up the PP, I certainly agree that more movement around the ice would help. Given the talent they have, it shouldn't be that difficult to achieve.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Elite? The best in the league? No he is not.

Very good, underrated....yes.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Will Marner and Jumbo be a bad mix, a lot of distribution.
Both AM and Nylander will be great at reception.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Thornton would be lucky to play on PP2 at this point, let alone PP1....

Nylander is one of the best young players in the entire league.

I thought he would be on the PP, since he can pass.

 

[ottomaddox]

Maple Leafs camp starts with a bombshell. At 41, Joe Thornton will skate with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner

This Thornton VS. Nylander debate is alive and well.

Him playing top line could push Nylander down a little. We'll see.

 

[Menzinger]

Maple Leafs camp starts with a bombshell. At 41, Joe Thornton will skate with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner

This Thornton VS. Nylander debate is alive and well.

Him playing top line could push Nylander down a little. We'll see.

Looks like Hyman is being pushed down

 

[ottomaddox]

Will Marner and Jumbo be a bad mix, a lot of distribution.
Both AM and Nylander will be great at reception.

Likely you're right. Unless they plan on Brodie/Rielly as shooters. We'll see...

 

[Ryan Michaels]

Maybe Nick Robertson should bump Matthews too.

 

[saltming]

Maple Leafs camp starts with a bombshell. At 41, Joe Thornton will skate with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner

This Thornton VS. Nylander debate is alive and well.

Him playing top line could push Nylander down a little. We'll see.

We have two top lines no?

 

[ottomaddox]

Maybe Nick Robertson should bump Matthews too.

Could or should?

 

[ottomaddox]

We have two top lines no?

Rhetorical much?

 

[saltming]

Rhetorical much?

I have been accused of rhetoric before

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

Thank you Lord God Jesus. You have answered our prayers.

William Nylander is a Power Forward now.

I don't get it... Do people not remember how many goals Nylander put in from the front of the net last season? He's not a power forward, but he knows how to put the puck in from in close. 40 goals was not out of the question last year. He's getting close to being an elite goal scorer who's already a fantastic playmaker. Maybe not on Marners' level but it's close. Aside from Matthews I'd say Nylander is our second most dangerous player on the PP (slightly ahead of JT).

 

[Notsince67]

I don't get it... Do people not remember how many goals Nylander put in from the front of the net last season? He's not a power forward, but he knows how to put the puck in from in close. 40 goals was not out of the question last year. He's getting close to being an elite goal scorer who's already a fantastic playmaker. Maybe not on Marners' level but it's close. Aside from Matthews I'd say Nylander is our second most dangerous player on the PP (slightly ahead of JT).

16% shooting percentage. He should have played craps in vegas that year too.
Lets not be ridiculous. There is zero to negative infinity chance that Nylander is ever considered a PP replacement for Marner.
He is decent but he hasn't produced anywhere near that level

 

[Menzinger]

16% shooting percentage. He should have played craps in vegas that year too.
Lets not be ridiculous. There is zero to negative infinity chance that Nylander is ever considered a PP replacement for Marner.
He is decent but he hasn't produced anywhere near that level

We shouldnt view the two as competition on the PP since they're fulfilling different roles. Neither guy should be moved for a 30-40 point Joe Thornton.

Though despite having a career high of 15.7 on sh% (a 1.7% bump on his 2nd best nhl stint), its not exactly as lucky as you're hinting at given the qualitative/quantitative shifts in his game. Imporvementa in his shot accuracy + shooting location and then shifts in usage (1st pp unit)

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

16% shooting percentage. He should have played craps in vegas that year too.
Lets not be ridiculous. There is zero to negative infinity chance that Nylander is ever considered a PP replacement for Marner.
He is decent but he hasn't produced anywhere near that level

Not really. While 15.7% is indeed higher than what he normally shoots, I think we all agree his game is vastly more different than it was in years prior. 15.7% isn't some unheard of shooting percentage. Lots of guys hover around 15%.

No one said Nylander is a replacement for Marner. Marner is an elite playmaker on the PP. What I did say is that I find Nylander to be more dangerous. While Marner has unbelievable vision he's not really a threat to score. When the puck is on his stick the Goalie isn't thinking shot, and if a shot is coming you aren't too worried most of the time. On the other hand with Nylander there's a legit threat that he might shoot and score but he can also thread the puck into the perfect position to set up a goal as well. Both are great players to have and there aren't many teams that wouldn't have both on their top PP.

 

[Racer88]

I’m guessing that 3-4 games into the season the lines will look totally different then the have so far in practice

 

[Joedoggy]

You're literally defending a guy who loves to blame everyone but himself.

Go look at any Babcock presser when the Leafs got eliminated. Has he ever said "it was my fault"? NEVER.

High-tempo and ice-time is one thing, giving equal ice-time to your worst forwards in comparison to your best is completely different.

Babcock also did the same thing in Detroit...I guess Dubas had his fingers on that too??

Buttercup Babcock and his its all about me mentality..got Tor exactly where for 50 plus mill?....Square one.

 

[ottomaddox]

Buttercup Babcock and his its all about me mentality..got Tor exactly where for 50 plus mill?....Square one.

A re-build? Did he coach the team, sign players, draft, and trade?

 

[BAM]

Buttercup Babcock and his its all about me mentality..got Tor exactly where for 50 plus mill?....Square one.

Let's not ignore the fact that he gave the team a much needed shift in culture from the Burke, Phaneuf, Kessel days. Rielly and Kadri also developed greatly under his watch. Don't get me wrong he did a lot more wrong than good, but there was still a few good things he did.

 

[Notsince67]

We shouldnt view the two as competition on the PP since they're fulfilling different roles. Neither guy should be moved for a 30-40 point Joe Thornton.

Though despite having a career high of 15.7 on sh% (a 1.7% bump on his 2nd best nhl stint), its not exactly as lucky as you're hinting at given the qualitative/quantitative shifts in his game. Imporvementa in his shot accuracy + shooting location and then shifts in usage (1st pp unit)

Well I'm going to be optimistic and give Nylander some credit with his beautiful shot in practice that hit Sparks and put him out for a spell.

 

[Bedards Dad]

He's not tough, he does not disrupt the goalie, he does not deflect shots like the best in the league, he shows fear of his shadow and defensemen who push him around, and he does not draw penalties from in front of the net.

This is what we call a "false narrative" kids.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Maple Leafs camp starts with a bombshell. At 41, Joe Thornton will skate with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner

This Thornton VS. Nylander debate is alive and well.

Him playing top line could push Nylander down a little. We'll see.

Last season Nylander got taken off Matthews line and replaced with Marner. However he was put on a line with Tavares and both of them played well with each other.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Dubas traded Linholm (a penalty killer)

Lindholm was useless. He did not help our PK, and he was far from the only alternative to an injured Hyman.