Nick Alberga boldly predicted that William Nylander needs to score 50 goals to help save Toronto's offence, putting more pressure on him to reach the next level as the team looks to lean on him heavily for offence.
Alberga revealed during Leafs Morning Take his three boldest takes for the 2026-27 season, with his biggest prediction focusing on William Nylander and his ability to step up his goal-scoring ability for next season:
William Nylander will hit the 50-goal plateau for the first time in his career. He got 45 a couple years ago. I think Nylander is the type of player who is motivated by disappointment, and he'd tell you he wasn't crazy about his season. So I think he pops off under Jim Hiller.
Nylander, 29, still put up great numbers despite missing 17 games last year. He had 30 goals and 79 points in 19:25 TOI while anchoring the Maple Leafs offence - leading the team in points and assists.
The real risk of relying on a historic breakout
Prior to his 30-goal output last year, Nylander had 125 goals from 2022-23 to 2024-25 (40, 40, 45) which ties him for 7th over that span ahead of Connor McDavid (122), Alex Ovechkin (117), and Jason Robertson (110).
With a new power-play unit expected with the addition of Darren Raddysh and potentially Gavin McKenna, Nylander now has to fit into not only Jim Hiller's new strategy, but also make sure he's not taking chances away indirectly just by nature of playing in a specific role.
It also adds a lot of pressure on Nylander to perhaps do more than he can, and if he tries too hard to drive the offence by himself without utilizing his teammates, it will tire him out and it will cause unforced errors.
One benefit that Nylander has if he does struggle to get things going is he can fall back on John Tavares to carry the load a little more while he gets acclimated because Tavares is still an above average offensive player - with 290 points from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
The one thing that Nylander has to do though is be more proactive in the play. Often times he'll hang around the boards waiting for his opportunities but he's a very good stick checker who is adept at stealing the puck, so if he plays a bit more aggressive defensively, he can turn that into chances at the other end.
Toronto needs Nylander's shooting threat more than it needs a literal 50-goal season
But Nylander is also a person who is dead set on winning in Toronto. He publicly admitted numerous times how important it is to win in the city, and he's committed long-term. He also knows he can be better than he was last year, and now that he's healthy and has that spark again - that's dangerous for the rest of the league.
He also has a brand new playmaking weapon in Gavin McKenna who may end up starting on his line once the season opens up.
That's not confirmed, but at some point the two are going to play together, and Nylander's scoring prowess combined with McKenna's creativity and playmaking ability could create some serious magic.
Nylander is capable of driving the offence but thrives best as someone who capitalizes on chances that others give him.
Having McKenna and Tavares able to find him with minimal space, he doesn't need much time to do damage. 20 of his 30 goals came in high-danger opportunities, and with Tavares crashing the net with the puck and McKenna there to find him in the slot, 50 goals isn't far from reality but it still needs him to be at his very best.
Alberga's take is certainly a bold one, but not one that is grounded in fantasy. Nylander has proven he can score 45 goals, and with a brand new offensive opportunity ahead of him combined with dedication and motivation to win - 50 isn't too far away and the Maple Leafs need him to return to that 40+ goal elite scoring threat if they want to compete with the very tough Atlantic Division.
Do you think William Nylander can hit 50+ goals?
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