William Nylander has quietly been on a tear.
While much of the talk around the Toronto Maple Leafs as of late has been about Mitch Marner’s franchise record points streak (which increased to 22 on Saturday), Nylander has been flying a bit under the radar with his solid play as of late.
The Swedish forward exploded for a career-high five points against the Calgary Flames.
“As soon as he’s feeling it he’s hard to stop,” Marner said of Nylander’s play. “It’s fun to watch.”
While Nylander has always had a flair for the offensive, it was a bit of a surprise to find out that his previous career high in points before Saturday’s game was just three points.
But nevertheless, Nylander has quietly been one of the more consistent offensive players over the course of the last four seasons. He’s put up 99 goals since the 2019-20 season, which puts him 12th in the league and in some elite company.
NHL goal leaders since the 2019-20 season courtesy of NHL.com
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Of course, the defensive play for different stretches of the season has been a sticking point for critics of the 26-year-old.
But last year seemed to be a turning point. After he was benched at times for his play, particularly in a game against the Montreal Canadiens last February, he has steadied his play on all sides of the ice.
“Last season he kind of set a new standard for himself, I think he’s got a long way to go still in terms of what his potential is and what he can do,” Sheldon Keefe said of Nylander. “You are seeing that. He’s producing at a higher clip. He’s been very consistent to start the season here. I think Willy can and should be in that top elite tier of NHL players.”
In the past, Keefe has mentioned that Nylander was the type that needed vocal reinforcement when things weren’t going well, but it appears that has been dialed back this season.
“I think he’s maturing,” Keefe said. “Over time you get sick of having the coach in your ear all the time and you want to get that sorted out yourself before the coach has to come and get there.”
The coach also mentioned he feels there is an internal competition among the top guys like Marner and Auston Matthews where they are pushing each other.
“Willy should be right there with those guys,” Keefe reiterated.
Nylander leads the Maple Leafs with 17 goals this season, just two ahead of Matthews. He’s on pace for 48, which would shatter his previous high of 34 set last season.
“You just want to do better than the year before, you always want to be better,” Nylander said. “Whatever that number ends up being, I’m not too worried about that right now.
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