Auston Matthews and William Nylander have already set the Maple Leafs’ direction
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Both Auston Matthews and William Nylander are locked up and ready to do damage for the Maple Leafs, and they've already given them the blueprint to build around them.
The Maple Leafs are officially exiting a decade of disappointment. From early playoff exits, to heartbreaking collapses, to whatever you could classify this season as — things have been up and down, but luckily they have Matthews and Nylander to focus on.
The focus now is on the team adding the right people in the front office who have not only the ability to transform the roster for the better, but bring back that prestige the Toronto crest once held.
For the league's most profitable franchise to become a laughingstock is no small feat.
But there's a huge opportunity now with Brad Treliving out and a genuine focus on changing the culture in the room and luckily for the Maple Leafs they have their two top stars locked up and ready to do some work.
The Matthews and Nylander commitment and why elite stability is key to winning a championship
While there's a lot of questions about whether or not Auston Matthews is going to stick around or not — with a lot depending on who Toronto brings in and how the roster is constructed, but he's not given up yet and there's no indication he wants out.
There's still more than enough time to convince him to extend, as his contract is up in 2028. That gives Toronto two seasons to really pull things together, and if this season was as much of a blip as they say it was, then two years may be all they need.
On the flip side, you have someone who doesn't need to worry about an extension for a long time, that being William Nylander. He's here for the long haul, and despite some criticism along the way; you can't deny he's bought in.
But it gives the Maple Leafs a clear focus: Build around the two. You already have Matthew Knies becoming a star, and John Tavares is putting in 70-point seasons at 35. It's time to give them the supplemental help they need.
What the Maple Leafs need to do in order to properly build around Matthews and Nylander
Give Matthews and Nylander each their own playmaker and stop relying so heavily on them to run the offence. Matthews needs to be a scorer again and can only get there with someone who can reliably feed him the puck, and giving him Knies again on the wing will protect him some more.
Nylander needs the playmaking because Toronto has to move Tavares down to the 3C, but that does leave it open for a guy like Easton Cowan to come in and lock down a top-six spot and find chemistry with a guy he could play with for the next half-decade, or a new face to help Nylander continue to dominate.
On top of that, the team needs to find better facilitators on the backend, and whether it's Dougie Hamilton or Cale Makar — someone who can run things properly is a must. No more of this depending on Morgan Rielly, and there's a lot of fixes that happen solely by replacing him on the blueline.
The goaltending isn't an issue, and while you can fault Stolarz for his rough season, he was coming in hurt and it only got worse. Joseph Woll is rock solid and the team still has two young goalies in the pipeline who could step in at any point in Dennis Hildeby and Artur Akhtyamov.
Finally, they need to bring in arguably the most important thing for both men which is a new coach.
Craig Berube neutered Matthews into the ground and tried to make him a defensive-first centre and force him into a two-way game which is not where he shines.
He and Nylander seem to be at odds despite comments stating otherwise, and you know Berube is irked when Nylander doesn't hustle 100%.
Bringing in a voice who can motivate through constructive criticism and not belittlement is key. It also probably helps having someone who doesn't rely on one goal to win games either; this is a high-tempo team...play like it.
This is not really that difficult for MLSE and the Maple Leafs to pull off, as it's pretty clear what needs to be done.
The only question now is will they actually have the right people to make these moves or not.
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Why the Maple Leafs were right to stay away from Peter DeBoer
Why the Maple Leafs were right to stay away from Peter DeBoer