Maple Leafs make roster move to open space for William Nylander
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made an important roster move as they await the return of William Nylander as he looks to come back after a near two-week absence.
It's been a little while since William Nylander appeared in a game for the Maple Leafs. Injured on Dec. 27 against Ottawa, he was expected to be day-to-day but he's nearing a two-week absence.
Toronto has done well without him however, going 6-0-2 in their last eight games but adding Nylander should give them even more firepower as they inch closer and closer to a playoff spot.
Toronto demotes Jacob Quillan as they await Nylander's return
Well it looks like they are anticipating his return for Saturday night as the team decided to demote Jacob Quillan to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on Friday in order to make room for the returning star winger:
Toronto will likely announce Nylander's return to the lineup either later tonight or on Saturday at practice.
It's going to be a huge boost offensively to the team as Nylander currently still leads the team in points even though he's missed the last couple of weeks. He has 41 points in 33 games (14 goals, 27 assists) so it will be interesting to see how Craig Berube will use him now.
The Maple Leafs have been using more creative lineups recently and it's paid off in spades, with groupings like Nicolas Roy, Nick Robertson, and Easton Cowan showing a lot of promise, meanwhile Matias Maccelli has quietly emerged as someone you can't take out of the lineup.
Throwing Nylander back into the fray is going to mess with the chemistry a little bit, and it should behoove Craig Berube to play Nylander less when things are tight knowing that he may not give 100% effort.
There's some genuine criticism to be thrown towards Nylander when it comes to his defensive acumen or lack thereof, but if Berube can surround him with players who can help overcome that; that should help him focus on offense which is his obvious strength.
All in all though it's a net positive to have Nylander back in the lineup, and he will have a perfect chance to get right back on the scoreboard as the Maple Leafs take on the woeful Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.
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JANVIER 9 | 1561 ANSWERS Maple Leafs make roster move to open space for William Nylander Will Nylander help or hurt the Maple Leafs when he returns? | ||
| Help Them! | 1305 | 83.6 % |
| Hurt Them! | 256 | 16.4 % |
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