William Nylander responds after surprise demotion to the Maple Leafs' third line
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
William Nylander comments after being dropped down to the Toronto Maple Leafs third line by head coach Craig Berube.
William Nylander was moved down to the Toronto Maple Leafs third line with Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy, the first time this season Nylander has been shifted off of the Leafs top-six.
Nylander has been pointless in December in his last four games, having last scored last on November 26th against Columbus, his last point coming on the 29th against Pittsburgh.
Craig Berube decided that now was the time to change things ahead of tonight's game against the San Jose Sharks, dropping Nylander down to the third line as an adjustment for the team.
What Craig Berube said about sending Nylander off the top-six
Craig Berube indicated to reporters that he hasn't lost faith in Nylander, but that the forward needs to reset and find his offense.
Berube said that the Leafs current second line of Nylander - Tavares - Cowan was growing stale and the team needs a fresh outlook.
Having pulled him aside for a personal chat, Berube made it clear to Nylander that he wanted to see more out of him with the third line a test of how he responds.
Although Nylander is the one demoted, Berube says that the move is a showing of faith for Nylander, giving him the chance to regenerate and take the drop as an opportunity to kickstart his offense again.
Nylander spoke on the demotion, sharing optimism that the move was for the best in order to try new things that could help the lineup.
What William Nylander's demotion says about him
Craig Berube is maintaining faith in William Nylander, but has made clear he wants more out of the Swedish forward and wants him to use it as motivation.
Two things are clear for Nylander and that he needs to show up on the scoresheet, but he also needs to be more defensively refined and can't be one dimensional.
Playing alongside two defensively responsible forwards in Dakota Joshua and Nicolas Roy should help him in playing a more aggressive style if he's willing to go along.
While not giving up on William Nylander, the words of Craig Berube are clear that more is needed of William Nylander if he wants to earn his way back up onto the top-six, and he'll have to show it.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 11 | 1291 ANSWERS William Nylander responds after surprise demotion to the Maple Leafs' third line Should William Nylander be on the top-six? | ||
| Yes | 989 | 76.6 % |
| No | 302 | 23.4 % |
| List of polls | ||