Craig Berube hints at major change for William Nylander after recent performances
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been trying to make William Nylander a center for years, and now that shift may be coming.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are off to another great start thus far in 2024/25, and even without Auston Matthews in the lineup, the team is looking like genuine Stanley Cup threats once more.
One player who has helped them to that success is William Nylander, who has posted 12 goals and 20 points through 17 games following on from a year in which he posted a career-high 98 points.
However, that play has come on the wing, and after trying him at center in the off-season, we've now had the biggest hint yet that the experiment could be making its way to the regular season in Toronto.
"He's really good in the face-up dot. He's like 55% on the year, which is good. He was fine in the middle today. He looked good to me."
The main reason why the team may be looking to push for this right now is the injury to Matthews, as he may be on the way back soon, but with several games missed this year, more depth down the middle certainly wouldn't hurt.
On top of that, John Tavares, who has served as the Maple Leafs 2C for the past few years is a free agent at the end of the season, and while he may return to Toronto, it's clear that they need someone at that position.
Given how much Nylander impacts winning in Toronto, he's clearly the player that needs to find his way into that role, and this may be the signal from Berube that the change is happening.
At 10-6-2 on the season, Toronto is faring just fine the way things are, but if they can push Tavares to the 3C role and find dynamic wingers alongside Nylander, it may unlock another level for this forward group as they look to end their near-60-year Stanley Cup drought.
| POLL | ||
Should William Nylander be playing down the middle for the Toronto Maple Leafs? | ||
| Yes | 24 | 52.2 % |
| No | 22 | 47.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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