Daniel Alfredsson's power play structure changes William Nylander's role

Daniel Alfredsson's power-play strategy changes William Nylander's role on the man advantage, where hopefully his speed and scoring can be exploited.

The Toronto Maple Leafs hired Daniel Alfredsson in a surprising move this past offseason, bringing the former Ottawa Senators captain in to help manage their power-play and turn it into the dominant force it can be.

Trying to improve on the 15th-best power-play in the NHL, the team has a lot of potent offensive weapons at their disposal, but need the proper guidance and strategy in order to properly maximize their opportunities. If that's the case, then the Maple Leafs may be shifting roles to accommodate a new vision.

Alfredsson's new strategy could involve removing Nylander from his primary flanker position

Which means that William Nylander may need to change his role from playmaking flank to pure finisher as the team looks to add Gavin McKenna to the fold. While that's not guaranteed to happen, it's more than likely that McKenna gets plenty of power-play time as the team could utilize his pure playmaking to create chances.

That would leave Nylander out of his comfort zone as a flanker and his ability to use his quick and deft hands to draw defenders in and find his teammates will now be primarily McKenna's role. But now he gets to utilize his true strength - shooting.

Nylander has the scoring ability on the power-play though, and with playmaking no longer a focus then he can shift his mentality to purely scoring. Over the last three seasons, Nylander has 30 power-play goals so while he's been a primary playmaker (57 power-play assists) he's certainly able to finish.

That would leave McKenna as the primary playmaker, Nylander and Auston Matthews as the two finishers, Matthew Knies as the net-front screen presence and Darren Raddysh as that point threat with a 100 MPH shot. That five-man group could end up improving on their 21.3 PP% and give the Maple Leafs the edge each night, knowing they can rely on a deadly power-play anytime they draw a penalty.

Gavin McKenna gets the bump in the bumper position

McKenna will get his fair share of chances as the new bumper as opposed to just sitting on the wings, and knowing his quick hands and vision in close are elite - he can find chances on both sides of the ice.

Not to mention his quick turnaround speed can shift his position to easily pass off to Raddysh and let him fire off a shot then reset as Knies or Matthews gather the puck and dish it back off to McKenna. We'll get that typical 1-3-1 formation on the PP however, if they wanted an alternative that still benefits them and utilizes McKenna - they can try an overload.

McKenna can play the half-wall quarterback, meanwhile Nylander can play low at the goal line and gather rebounds, or cycle passes and reset. Knies continues as your net-front presence and Raddysh continues to be the point man, where Matthews becomes a weak side option.

With everyone drawn to McKenna and Nylander, worried about Knies bullying the goalie in front, and Raddysh's shot threat, that leaves Matthews open on the right side and as a left-handed shot - he can get those cross-ice passes and fire off a one-timer with ease.

It's atypical from your normal NHL setup where you have a defensive quarterback, a net-front presence, then three spread out forwards in the middle, but it plays to everyone's strengths.

Alfredsson's hiring was meant to improve a power-play that was middle of the road in 2025-26, and he's got the firepower to do so. However, it's likely that means a role change for William Nylander and the rest of the Maple Leafs but sometimes? Change can be pretty good.

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