News Article: The Nylander Saga.

[Dreakmur]

That wasn't the point though. The point is that his stats got inflated from being on a poor offensive team, and went down when he went to a better one. The opposite of what was said.

Did his stats get inflated or did he just have his two best seasons? Odds are he score more because he played more, since he was the #1 center. He also played with better players than usual, even if they were guys like Jason Blake and Phil Kessel.

 

[kb]

Did his stats get inflated or did he just have his two best seasons? Odds are he score more because he played more, since he was the #1 center. He also played with better players than usual, even if they were guys like Jason Blake and Phil Kessel.

Exactly like Barzal?

 

[Dreakmur]

Exactly like Barzal?

If this was a high point for Barzal, sure. He scored 85 points as the second centre when the team was high scoring in 2018.

 

[Anthrax442]

 

[ACC1224]

He can play a little soft but I wouldn’t necessarily call him a p***y.

 

[Notsince67]

I will never understand where the Nylander is bad in the corners narrative comes from. You will see him go for puck retrieval calculate the angle position his body perfectly and pick pocket the bigger player then use his body to separate the puck and make a great pass with ease. I feel like some people would prefer the useless plug forechecking with no plan losing the puck battle but huffing and puffing showing GRIT and Heart over actually coming out with the puck and any scoring chance.

In fairness, Nylander did pull up a lot and avoided contact but HAS improved a lot this year. Saying it didn't happen is revisionist history

 

[Trapper]

He can play a little soft but I wouldn’t necessarily call him a p***y.

More like an opossum
Opossum are not aggressive: their open-mouth, defensive hissing is merely a bluff to look vicious. ... If there is an opossum in the yard, don't worry. They aren't a threat, and more than likely they will be moving on in a short while.

Will most likely play dead under extreme conditions.

 

[Notsince67]

He can play a little soft but I wouldn’t necessarily call him a p***y.

Not a p***y but maybe he was a bit of a sissy

 

[JayfromNB1219]

This is a terrible take.

How so exactly? are you one of those Nylander can do no wrong people? I don't deny he had a great year and he's superbly talented...to notice shortcomings in a player isn't a bad thing...I hope it improves as he is talented but don't pretend the kid is superman

 

[DarkKnight]

I think it’s Keefe’s biggest achievement so far, convincing and moving Nylander to the crease area on the PP, driving the net for rebounds. No more Jason Blake like laps around the perimeter that go nowhere, he now understands where you get rewarded. I mean his game was a complete revelation last year, all the flare was the same, but the understanding of where he needs to go to translate talent into goals, that was an epiphany. It was great to see and Keefe does deserve some credit for impacting the player, the correlation is irrefutable imho.

 

[robertmac43]

Nylander is a great player, a lot of Leafs nation will just refuse to see that because they didn't like his contract saga and think he is 'soft'.

 

[al secord]

Not a p***y but maybe he was a bit of a sissy

Ah yes. The ballad of the interweb fake tough guy.

 

[kb]

How so exactly? are you one of those Nylander can do no wrong people? I don't deny he had a great year and he's superbly talented...to notice shortcomings in a player isn't a bad thing...I hope it improves as he is talented but don't pretend the kid is superman

Now had you said this originally, I wouldn't have said terrible take.

 

[JayfromNB1219]

Now had you said this originally, I wouldn't have said terrible take.

Curious, what about my original take did you have such a huge issue with? the fact I didn't mention the improvement this year or what?

 

[Joey Hoser]

You could argue that he could walk on the surface of the sun too.

Except my proposition is completely reasonable. Players score more when they move up the lineup and are leaned on more heavily by their team. This is common knowledge/sense. It's how Alexei Ponikarovsky scored 60 points as a Leaf.

 

[Dreakmur]

Except my proposition is completely reasonable. Players score more when they move up the lineup and are leaned on more heavily by their team. This is common knowledge/sense. It's how Alexei Ponikarovsky scored 60 points as a Leaf.

Nylander gets to avoid the tough defensive matchups while also having Tavares in his line and he gets to play on a loaded top power play unit.

There isn’t a better situation out there to put up points.

 

[ShaneFalco]

I'd be a little more concerned with the Marner saga at this point and with that contract going forward

 

[moon111]

Now we cant even make the 1st round.

Before lou came, we missed the playoffs 10 out of 11 seasons and hadn't made the 1st round twice in a row since 02-03 and 03-04.

In lou's three years here, we went from last place in the entire league to 105 points and made the playoffs twice.

Dubas has managed to undo that progress in just 2 years!

Name a more successful Canadian team the Leafs from 1993 to the lock-out? How many top 10 draft picks did they have? Back then when we cried about doing bad, it was rarely in the bottom 10 teams in the league. Little secret about success in the NHL, drafting in the top 3 can play a big part in it. The Leafs best was getting Antropov 10th overall. You don't build a future team around Antropov. The Cap completely cut the Leaf's Achilles heels. You had an expensive roster to deal with. You had NO prospects to restock your team with. The Leafs were more like a 1974 expansion franchise then a team like Vegas, getting plenty of assets to work with. The Leafs lose, and lose big. NONE of this has any credit to Lou, nor does any of the success the team had that after sucking so hard for so long, they managed to draft Rielly, Nylander, Marner, and Matthews. So the question becomes, why didn't the Leafs immediately go into rebuild mode? Because the former management gave out contracts that left the Leafs facing two choices. Horrible returns or keep them and see what can happen. They did, didn't work. There's two ways you can go. Keep on adding players like Marleau. Serious, he was successful for the Leafs in the playoffs. It had been the bottom six forwards, the Polak, Hainsey types that lead this team. Personally I don't think the Leafs would of been wise to add a few vets to this core. The end result would of been a loss of future for no current gains. Dubas has this roster running with kids. Look at some of the players left in the playoffs, even if they're not the most skilled players (Andy Green, Boychuk, Ladd, Komarov, Brassard, Clutterbuck, M.Martin, Josh Bailey, Coburn, Maroon, Shattenkirk, McDonagh, Killorn, Schenn)... these older, honed players know how to play within themselves and be part of a team. The Leafs need to build the bottom half, not the top. Dubas wasn't left with enough assets to immediately do it and chose wisely to not even attempt it.

 

[Notsince67]

Ah yes. The ballad of the interweb fake tough guy.

Ah ...the fake tough guy looking to be tough by accusing someone of acting tough.
Act your age

 

[Ziggdiezan]

I think it’s Keefe’s biggest achievement so far, convincing and moving Nylander to the crease area on the PP, driving the net for rebounds. No more Jason Blake like laps around the perimeter that go nowhere, he now understands where you get rewarded. I mean his game was a complete revelation last year, all the flare was the same, but the understanding of where he needs to go to translate talent into goals, that was an epiphany. It was great to see and Keefe does deserve some credit for impacting the player, the correlation is irrefutable imho.

Take a look at his shooting/goal heat maps on icydata. Such a huge increases in slot goals from the previous seasons, even at 5 on 5.

 

[stopclickbait]

Nylander gets to avoid the tough defensive matchups while also having Tavares in his line and he gets to play on a loaded top power play unit.

There isn’t a better situation out there to put up points.

While at home Keefe/Babcock would match Tavares against the other teams tops lines on the road Other teams would focus there shutdown guys against the Matthews line. I don’t know how to you can avoid tough defensive matchups when you play so many minutes.

how about being a 5th wheel for a PP of Mackinnon Makar Rantanen Landy

 

[34]

Amazing player that will score 40 goals in a season in the NHL.

He is so under appreciated.

 

[saffronleaf]

Nylander is one of my favorite players on the team. I think his upside could be a PPG, 35g, center.

His elegant style makes people think he's lazy, but he's working out there.

One of the best in the league at controlled zone entries. Gets many of his goals in front of the net.

I think he could work on his shot. It's lethal but he takes a while to get it off. He could be a sniper if he works on it. Also should add some physicality to his game like Matthews did this season (and Matthews should take that to another level, as well).

Comeback player of the year. Best value deal of the 3 big RFAs.

It didn't work out in game 5, but I'd like to see Nylander center the second line next year.

Tavares - Matthews - Marner
Robertson - Nylander - Hyman
AJ - Kerfoot - Mikheyev

 

[Havoc]

Nylander carried his line.

A line that had Tavares.

Enough said.

Can't wait for puck drop to see him build on his progress. That JT/Nylander duo should be good for 80-90 points each. Tavares will be fully healed and on a mission next season.

 

[ViewsFromThe6ix]

Nylander is a great player, a lot of Leafs nation will just refuse to see that because they didn't like his contract saga and think he is 'soft'.

The craziest thing is the perception around Nylander is that he's lazy.....by all accounts from those around the team, he's one of the hardest working guys on the team.