'He's in a bad place': Why Nylander's comments feel different right now
Photo credit: Toronto Maple Leafs
According to Elliotte Friedman, William Nylander's post-game comments hit harder considering his own personal reaction to the Maple Leafs' situation.
Things are pretty rough right now for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as they are currently mired in a three-game losing streak, just fired their assistant coach, and don't really have a clear path forward of getting out of this mess.
William Nylander was at a loss after the team's 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Sunday, and admitted that this was unknown territory for the star forward, and when the typically cool and calm forward is struggling; you know things are bad.
It's gotten so bad that it's even affected those outside of the organization.
Elliotte Friedman knows things are getting bad in Toronto
Elliotte Friedman was a guest on The FAN Hockey Show on Monday, and admitted that Nylander's words got to him, and he realized just how dire things were in Toronto:
That was it for me. When [William] Nylander says ['I don't know if I ever felt like this before'] he's really in a bad place.
Things feel like they can't get worse for the Maple Leafs although they most certainly can if they don't get a win on Tuesday night. They are up against Pittsburgh, a team they have done well against this year.
If they can't come out strong and get humiliated again then it all but assures that firings like Savard's won't be the last.
William Nylander has a right to be upset, but also needs to pull up his socks
Nylander has been uncharacteristically bad over the last 11 games, having not scored a goal in that span and it's been over a month since he scored at 5-on-5. He's shown a lack of effort, a lack of heart, and looks genuinely depressed on the ice.
It also doesn't help that he is getting into verbal spats with Craig Berube, and their relationship; as unique as it is, is being tested to the nth degree right now. The coach needs more from him, but Nylander steers his own ship, and there's a huge disconnect right now.
To be fair to Nylander, this is brand new territory for him as he's never finished lower than third in the standings for his career, and has made the playoffs consistently for the last decade. He's not really used to losing (at least this early on).
If Nylander's comments are making people like Elliotte Friedman feel a bit disheartened, one can only imagine how the forward feels heading into Tuesday's game.
But there's still time for him to turn it around, though he's gotta start to put in the effort again too.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 23 | 1580 ANSWERS 'He's in a bad place': Why Nylander's comments feel different right now Do you think the Maple Leafs are going to be able to pull themselves out of their slump? | ||
| Yes | 751 | 47.5 % |
| No | 829 | 52.5 % |
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