Craig Berube Sends a Message to William Nylander After Another Slow Game: 'What's Going On'
Photo credit: Hockey Patrol / IMGN
After another tough loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube targeted William Nylander for his lack of impact so far this season.
Monday's game had a lot of excitement around it given that it was Easton Cowan's NHL debut for the Toronto Maple Leafs and while he played admirably, the team weren't able to withstand their Original Six rivals and fell 3-2.
It was an awakening for Matthew Knies, who is quickly becoming a vital piece of the offense, and the aforementioned Cowan was a spark plug all night and had some very solid chemistry with Auston Matthews.
But one player who was absent for the majority of the game was William Nylander, who managed a minus-2 rating and was non-existent against the Red Wings.
Craig Berube To Have Heart to Heart With William Nylander
Something feels off with Nylander right now, and while we can't panic yet, it's worrying that one of Toronto's premier players is suddenly going through a slump.
Craig Berube was at a loss for what is going on with Nylander, and assured fans and the media he would get to the bottom of it because to him? It's unacceptable:
I don't know exactly what it is, to be honest with you. I'll have a conversation with him, see where he's at and what's going on.
It would behoove Berube to get on Nylander's case sooner than later as there is going to be a ton of problems if both Nylander and John Tavares keep up at the pace they're at.
At times there is a feeling that Nylander almost wants to play the Marner role, opting to pass and cycle things around as opposed to using his elite shot to wire pucks on net.
Contrast that to someone like Max Domi, who has a total of seven shots and a goal through three games.
Sure, Nylander is technically at a higher percentage, but even 50% looks rough when you're only getting a shot or two per game.
Last season, Nylander had five shots through his first three, and 15 through his first five games.
Previous to that, he had 13 shots in the first three games; he's just flat out not shooting the puck this season.
When players like Cowan are outplaying you, and a veteran fourth-line utility guy like Calle Jarnkrok already has triple your goal output, something needs to change and Craig Berube needs to figure it out fast.
There's a good chance that if he doesn't, the Toronto Maple Leafs won't just be missing out on some serious offense, but perhaps the entire postseason altogether.
Although if Craig Berube is loud enough, then Nylander is sure to wake up.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 13 | 788 ANSWERS Craig Berube Sends a Message to William Nylander After Another Slow Game: 'What's Going On' Does Toronto need to panic about William Nylander not shooting the puck? | ||
| Yes, something is wrong! | 227 | 28.8 % |
| No, he'll be fine! | 561 | 71.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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