Although William Nylander has 19 points in 15 games and leading the charge for the Maple Leafs, it overshadows his worsening 5v5 numbers.
In the Maple Leafs' early season stretch, you could point to two players who have taken charge of the offense that being Auston Matthews and William Nylander. The two have combined for 42 points including 19 goals and they have been a key reason why Toronto's power-play has been a force thus far.
Nylander's red flag is being overshadowed by his counting stats
But things aren't exactly perfect for one of those stars and it could become a serious problem:
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Nylander has not been that great defensively, and while we can't expect him to suddenly be a two-way player, he does need some help to cover for his shortcomings.
At 5v5 he's been on the ice for more goals against than for and his line-mates this season have not really been able to help him and it's why Jim Hiller refused to put Gavin McKenna on his line on Wednesday night.
Why Nylander needs so much help
You can't really expect Nylander to be someone who is elite in his own end, and it's why putting him with guys like Cowan and Nick Paul are beneficial. John Tavares is currently hurt but even he can't be a defensive helper for Nylander and the trio of McKenna/Nylander/Tavares are flat out bad defensively.
He has 19 points but is a minus-2 which just should not be happening. Yes, plus/minus is reflective of goals and not points, but he should be able to win his minutes consistently and have a net positive of goals for than against especially at 5v5.
Nylander needs someone who is a bit more aware in their own end because he often finds himself slacking or hanging above the blue line waiting for a breakout. But when you're unable to help stop goal-scoring chances then you're basically putting your team at a 5v4 disadvantage.
Kirill Marchenko's injury necessitated why Cowan and McKenna made a swap, but at least Hiller had the foresight to make sure he didn't put his two weak defenders alongside Paul and hope for the best.
William Nylander is a game-breaking, game-changing forward who can make things happen in an instant. However, he's also a player who doesn't provide a strong defensive game and a lack of enthusiasm to develop one.
That just means Toronto is going to need to give him some more help, even though by now he really shouldn't need it.
Do you think the Maple Leafs need to give William Nylander more help defensively on his line?
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