William Nylander Returns to Familiar Role with the Toronto Maple Leafs
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander was not only back on the ice Friday, but in a role he's all too familiar with; and it could pay off huge for the club.
It was a great sign to see William Nylander take the ice again on Friday after being absent previously for what the team called a maintenance day. There was no real injury, but the star forward did earn a rest day essentially.
But back to business, he was on the ice in familiar territory once again and while he was certainly focused on the offensive portion of his game, it seems Craig Berube wanted to utilize him defensively as well.
Nylander's Return to the Penalty Kill Sparks Interest at Camp
It was noticed that Toronto's penalty kill lines have a drastic new look with guys like Matthew Knies and Auston Matthews being used instead of regulars like David Kampf.
But it was Nylander who was also given PK duties alongside Bobby McMann that makes things interesting. He's no stranger to working the PK, as we he a big part of it in 2023-24, he does offer a very interesting dynamic especially with McMann.
In 2023-24, Nylander was on the ice for 82 minutes on the PK, and while he was on the ice for 12 goals against, he wasn't exactly the worst player on the ice and gave the team a great dynamic.
His speed and breakaway potential allows him to sneak behind defenses and break through while the opposition pinches. By the time he's in their zone he's all alone and ready to strike.
A lot of the goaltending woes that the team suffered through while Nylander was on the PK has been fixed, and if Nylander can bring the same type of energy with solid goaltending, we could see more than Matthews making regular PK time.
Could Nylander's PK Role Push Other Forwards Out of the Mix?
If we do end up seeing Nylander in a penalty killing role that certainly means that guys like David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok are even less likely to find themselves in the lineup.
With Jarnkrok at least he has some extra versatility, but with Kampf, he is mainly a fourth line player meant to kill penalties; if he's not even doing that role it's a very expensive person to leave in the press box.
The team might end up waiving him at the end of the day, and while it isn't ideal, the team can't find any buyers and they need to get rid of his $2.4-million cap hit somehow.
New assistant coach Derek Lalonde clearly has a vision in mind when it comes to the Toronto penalty killing units, and there's a big emphasis on using the stars and creating better well-rounded players.
That's unfortunate news for some players, but great news for Nylander as he's given even more of a chance to help the team out.
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