William Nylander changing position this season: This time it's for real

"Nylander should start camp at centre for the second year in a row, only this time it won't be a halfhearted experiment. Not like last fall when then-Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe pulled the plug after two exhibition games. Nylander will need time to acclimate to a position he's barely played in the NHL and I have to think new Leafs coach Craig Berube will give it to him. Unlike Keefe, who coached Nylander from his earliest days in the organization, Berube has no baggage (good or bad) with Nylander. No reason to think he can't make the transition. If he can do it, the Leafs will finally be able to ease John Tavares' burden, dropping him down, presumably, into 3C territory on a more permanent basis while lightening his minutes and competition slightly."

"It's well, that's the question for me. Certainly with the four group just because, you know, I won't say they're lacking depth, but they're lacking, maybe, an obvious option, because, you know David Kampf, you know, well, they obviously like him again before your contract in the offseason. I think you, you kind of have them take there's your fourth-line center and there isn't an obvious other option. I mean, Max Domi did play a lot of center last year in Chicago and even in Dallas after going over there at the deadline. I suppose he, you know, could be that the guy shifted over but it's probably not what you want to do entering the season and so, you know, the way I look at it is absent some sort of trade, which I guess maybe happens near the deadline, although I don't see it the Leafs having a ton of cap space then. Yeah, I think that this is one of those experiments that it really kind of has to work, and it's probably the main reason that you're going to see them give it, you know, a real length of time here because I don't think that there is an obvious Plan B that's sitting at the ready here. I mean, I guess maybe the answer is Kampf is playing as a third-line center and, you know, calling someone up from the Marlies to play on the fourth line and then just making it work from there. But, you know, clearly they think that they're better to have three lines looking for some scoring from and typically David Kampf hasn't played on lines that are counted on for offense. So, you know, I think that this is probably why it's going to be given a real length of time here to work. And then, you know, adjust from there."

"Well, so look what happened last year, right? So the first day of training camp. So like, this is what I think. I wrote this in the summer, like, I wrote a whole column. This makes sense. I don't know why they don't do this based on what they did in free agency, which was nothing as far as adding a center. Like they looked at it as too expensive. Didn't add anyone. You go back to last year: first day of training camp, the biggest story of the day was 'They're moving William Nylander to center.' Sheldon Keefe comes out and explains this was Brad Treliving's idea. He wants to see William Nylander at center. Okay. I'm like 'Cool. Let's see this.' They give it a week. Like, he doesn't even play a regular season game at center, So, like, you just put some of these pieces together and you're thinking, 'Okay, we know the general manager wants to see this, thinks there's something there. The previous head coach doesn't.' Did not believe in it, clearly. He moved Fraser Minten to that spot when he had never played in the NHL before, ahead of Nylander."

"So you look, they didn't add Elias Lindholm. They didn't add any other centers they wanted to. They decided they couldn't afford, like, Chandler Stevenson, whoever went for big money. So you look at their puzzle pieces, and it's like, well, what are they going to do? Why not give Nylander another look at center position and try to go with Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares as their three centers? I just think it makes sense, and it's something I've been working out in my head, and I have a hunch that I'm going to be right because I don't see a better- like, what is a better option? Tell me what the better option is. Do you want to go back to having David Kampf as the third center? Do you want to have Max Domi as your third center? What do you want to do? And I think it gives them an opportunity to build some depth through three lines. I think it's the best play long-term, honestly, to see if this can work. Because, suddenly, like, if you make Nylander a center and it works, now you've got your top two centers for the next five years. You know you have Auston Matthews signed for the next four, I guess. So the next four years, and suddenly you're a better setup at center than you would be if you just kept Nylander on the wing."