Nothing sums up William Nylander better than the last two nights. On Monday, on the first night of a back-to-back in Colorado against the powerhouse Avalanche, he looked fantastic, scoring two points, including the overtime winner. Then, just 24 hours later in Utah against the Mammoth, it was a different story: Nylander was pointless and a -4 in a 6-1 loss.
Back-to-back games in Colorado and Utah are tough for anyone, but Maple Leafs fans are all too familiar with Nylander’s rope-a-dope act of inconsistent effort. For one analyst, it remains extremely frustrating to watch, even all these years later.
TSN’s Jeff O’Neill spoke about Nylander after the win over Colorado, wondering why the superstar winger can’t put in the same level of effort and intensity every night as most of the league’s other best players tend to do.
said O’Neill:
“You make $11.5 million a year or whatever*** he makes, you signed a $92 million contract – can’t that be your bare minimum? I understand, you are extremely talented. You can shoot the puck and do things that very few people in the world can do. But isn’t that… something like: you owe that to your teammates? You owe that to the organization: you have to do your best every night. And if you do that, you’re clearly one of the best players in the world… So why should we look for that? Why do you want Craig Berube to pull out his hair, rip off his tie and watch you play? That should never be the case. But we’re talking about ten years, so… who knows,”
The 29-year-old Nylander leads the Maple Leafs in scoring with 46 points (16 goals, 30 assists) in just 36 games played this season. He is in year two of the aforementioned eight-year, $92 million extension he signed with the Maple Leafs in 2024.
This is exactly who William Nylander is
As O’Neill points out, we’re now more than a decade into Nylander’s NHL career, and at this stage you’re not going to change who he is and how he plays. It is reminiscent of Phil Kessel, which Leafs Nation of course also witnessed firsthand.
His skills are among the best in the world, but his effort doesn’t always match that. As a result, some nights both fans – and Craig Berube – are pulling their hair out.
That said, Nylander has made strides in recent years to become a more consistent player, going from a 60-point winger to a bona fide superstar on a points-per-game basis, so you have to take the good with the bad.
However, one wonders how much higher a level Nylander could reach if that effort was present day in and night out, because ultimately it could be the difference in how far this Maple Leafs team that relies heavily on him can go.
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