Latest news with #Nylander
Time of India
2 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Maple Leafs fans, are you ready for the William Nylander takeover as Mitch Marner's no longer in the picture
With Marner gone, is this Nylander's moment to silence his critics once and for all? (Imagn Images) In the shadow of Mitch Marner's exit, a fresh narrative is forming in Toronto — and it's wearing No. 88. As the Maple Leafs adjust to a new era without their elite playmaker, attention now shifts toward William Nylander. With his infectious charisma and explosive on-ice talent, Nylander isn't just filling a void — he's poised to redefine it. Leafs fans, the takeover isn't coming. It's already in motion. A new chapter begins: William Nylander steps into the spotlight While much of the buzz in Toronto has always circled Auston Matthews, there's a quiet revolution unfolding with William Nylander. Fresh off a career-best 45-goal season, the Swedish winger is proving he's not just a scorer but a dynamic playmaker as well. Though his assist count dipped from 58 to 39 last season, the challenge ahead is clear — balance the sniper's edge with the vision of a premier setup man. If he finds that sweet spot, fans might not miss Marner's artistry as much as they feared. What makes Nylander even more essential in this post-Marner landscape is his versatility. Under Craig Berube, his deployment offers tantalizing possibilities — either flanking Matthews and Matthew Knies on the top line or generating momentum with veterans like John Tavares and Matias Maccelli on the second. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like No annual fees for life UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Both combinations position Nylander as a central figure, not just in execution but in leadership. And let's be honest — at $11.5 million per year, expectations are sky-high. But Nylander has shown he thrives under pressure. His six goals and 15 points in 13 playoff games last spring were not just clutch, they were a message: this isn't a support player anymore. This is a franchise cornerstone. From rising star to franchise cornerstone: William Nylander's moment has arrived Nylander's temperament may just be his secret weapon. Unlike the visibly burdened Marner, Nylander carries himself with a relaxed confidence. 'If you've been in a dressing room with Nylander... you can't help but note that he's a happy guy on the whole.' That steady mindset will be crucial as scrutiny intensifies and the spotlight burns brighter. Raised by an NHL father, Nylander understands what it takes to perform under constant media glare. And now, with Marner gone and expectations higher than ever, the Leafs need him to stay consistent, electrifying, and dependable. He's been all of that for nearly a decade. There's every reason to believe he'll be even more. Nylander isn't just ready for the spotlight. He was born for it. Also Read: Nazem Kadri's trade value reportedly at peak: Are the Flames finally ready to pull the trigger? Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
New York Times
18-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Will the Maple Leafs keep Mitch Marner, John Tavares? Trade William Nylander?
And we're back. With so many questions coming in for our latest Maple Leafs mailbag, we've broken answers out into multiple columns. Here's Part 1 and Part 2. Below, we dig into Part 3, where we get into questions about keeping Mitch Marner, saving cap space for Connor McDavid in 2026, Easton Cowan's role next season, who Auston Matthews should play with and John Tavares' plausible contract structure. Advertisement If there are more questions you'd like to see in future installments, feel free to leave them in the comments here. Editor's note: Questions have been edited for clarity. Do you think there is any chance they will sign Marner and trade Nylander? I think Marner is slightly more to blame for playoff performance, but this way, at least the team has more to work with other than just signing UFAs and making small trades. — Iain B. I don't, no. Because I don't think Marner wants to do this anymore. I don't think he's enjoying playing here, and I don't think he believes he can win here and have success. And you can understand why, given how things have gone on the ice. The time to sign Marner and deal Nylander (or do the opposite) was a couple of years ago, and management missed that window, a massive mistake we'll be talking about for years. It never should have been allowed to play out like this. But it did, and they're going to have to pick up the pieces and make the best of the situation using the cap space they have. With the cap going up and the Leafs having a decent amount of cap space starting this year, should management not overpay on pieces this year with an eye to next offseason when McDavid is available? Also, what are the odds this is a possibility or are the Leafs better off using the cap space now to stay in contention? — Marco E. I don't think you can view this year as a punt season. Not with the age of the remaining core (especially the blue line). Not with the record they had and how they pushed Florida in the playoffs. You obviously don't want to sign any contracts this summer that are going to look silly and immovable a year from now. But if you add players that have value at the number they're signed at, you'll have players you can move in 2026 if one of the best players in the world is available and wants to come to Toronto. Advertisement But there are always ways to open up cap space. The Golden Knights have proven that, year after year. The cap will jump $8.5 million in the summer of 2026, for one, plus the Leafs will have Anthony Stolarz, Calle Järnkrok, Scott Laughton and Bobby McMann coming off the books. That's $16 million right there. Plus, they'll likely sign at least a few one-year deals this summer. And some of the players they have under contract have only partial no-trades and can be dealt, if necessary. A McDavid (or Jack Eichel, etc.) bid, in other words, should always be doable. If it isn't, something has gone horribly wrong. The odds this is a possibility are almost impossible to call at this point, so I won't speculate what they might be. But I don't think fans (and management) should give up on the possibility of adding another star over the next 13 months, even if they're aggressive in adding pieces this offseason. Do both. Get creative and push to improve using the lanes they do have. How much trade value can the Leafs extract from Mitch Marner's signing rights? — George K. It's not going to be a ton. Given what the Lightning paid for Jake Guentzel's rights last year, maybe a second-round pick? Honestly, I wouldn't get your hopes up of even receiving that, as it would need to involve the Leafs and Marner's camp coming together to make it happen and that feels unlikely at this point. It really does feel like he'll wait to get to July 1 and start fielding offers from around the league, rather than picking one or two destinations he wants to sign with the way that Mikko Rantanen did. I feel like the relationship with Toronto is basically over, in all respects. Who's more tired of answering the same questions every year, you or the Maple Leafs? — Shane P. Them, for sure. They have a lot more invested in the outcomes here than I do. But I will say that the most fun we at The Athletic had covering this team was in 2016-17, when that young team full of rookies went on a wild ride to making the playoffs. Those are the fun stories to dig into when the unexpected happens and there's something a bit magical around a team, player, game or event. That's what we love about sports. Advertisement I believe next year will be my 18th (!) covering the team, and unfortunately for the Leafs fan base, there just haven't been enough of those kinds of stories over those years. The questions, though, are a bit different this offseason, as Toronto's optimal path forward is pretty murky, and any mistakes management makes in the next few weeks will only compound their issues. That makes them an interesting team to analyze right now, as their future is up in the air and the avenues to improve aren't obvious. Do you think the Leafs are inevitably on the way down now? Is Marner leaving the biggest disappointment in Leafs history? — Peter S. No, I don't think a decline is inevitable right now. It's certainly one possible outcome if, as I mentioned above, they mess this offseason up. The degree of difficulty here is really high, and I'm curious to see if they're able to get creative and address some of the roster's shortcomings in this situation. If they whiff on a bunch of overpriced, hard-nosed free agents and become a mediocre wild-card team that makes an early exit next season, then we can start legitimately asking questions like that. I do think, however, that their most realistic contention window is likely within the next two years. Beyond that, it's going to get even trickier, with so many older players on contracts that may not age well and not a ton of young talent coming. But there are ways to address that in the interim, too, by moving off of players before they decline to the point they don't have value. As for the biggest disappointment question … that's a tough one. But I think the biggest disappointment has to be how long the team's championship drought has become, mostly thanks to long periods of mismanagement and strategic mistakes. They can't afford more of that. Losing Marner without getting anything in return hurts, but it shouldn't be a fatal blow, not with the other quality pieces the roster still has. This was a team that finished fourth in the NHL standings this past season. They can still be that, even down one star. Advertisement If it ends up being that way, with the Leafs taking a big step back, however, this entire era very well may end up charting up near the top of the Leafs disappointment scale, given how much promise there was when Matthews was drafted first overall and how little they've had to show for all their regular season success the past nine years. With the Leafs struggling to score in the postseason five-on-five and the PP, a lot has been made about the forwards, but how much of that comes down to the defence being unable to support or being a threat to shoot or cycle when the Leafs are in the offensive zone? — Marco E. Yes, those are fair points. The Leafs had the worst possession metrics in the league in the postseason and had only 44 percent of the high-danger chances at even strength. That's a hard way to win against top teams such as the Panthers. Part of these shortcomings can be addressed by balancing out the lineup up front, as Toronto was caved in with the bottom six on the ice too frequently. But some of this has to be on Craig Berube, too, and on management to figure out how they can augment their personnel to make this a stronger team territorially. The Leafs have gone all-in on length and physicality on the blue line as part of their 'Tree-fence,' which paid off in terms of shot blocking and clearing the front of the crease. But there's more to having a high-level NHL defence than just those elements. They need to find ways to not get hemmed in their own zone so often or it'll be impossible to generate a forecheck, strong cycle and grind game that Berube wants. Add that to the list of challenging shifts the organization needs to make for next season. Is there a real chance Easton Cowan makes and stays on the team this coming year? Or do you think a season in the AHL is better for his development? — Brandon S. I lean toward the AHL being the right place for him, given what he still needs to learn away from the puck. The jump from being a 20-year-old star on a loaded junior roster to contributing in real minutes in the NHL, on a playoff team, is immense. Now, that said, every player is different. Few expected Matthew Knies to come in and play the way he did right away. (Obviously, his size helps with that, but we've seen smaller, skilled players excel at young ages in the NHL, too.) Advertisement The good news with Cowan is that you don't have to commit to having a guaranteed NHL roster spot open for him from Day 1. There are going to be injuries, and he's waiver exempt on his ELC, so you can yo-yo him back and forth. If he has an amazing training camp and looks like he can play in the top nine in preseason, give him some regular-season games as opportunities come up and go from there. I look at the path of someone like Logan Stankoven as a good blueprint. His first pro season in 2023-24, he progressively lit up the AHL (57 points in 47 games) until it was clear he should be an NHL regular, and he ended up contributing for the Stars in a run to Round 3 in the playoffs. Then by Year 2 this past season, he's a full-time NHLer who puts up a 38-point season, looks ready for another step, and draws rave reviews from coaches and management in Carolina. That's a realistic ceiling for Cowan in my opinion, even if his two-way game isn't on Stankoven's level right now. But how fast he progresses in his development in the next 18 months is going to decide everything. And if a lot of injuries hit, the Leafs might need to accelerate things. Tavares: Keep at what price? He's shown renewed vigor this season. … What's the math to keep him and his Leafs PJs in town? — Chris O. I've been crunching some numbers on this one. It's clear his camp doesn't want to leave an unreasonable amount of money on the table. And it's also clear that the Leafs feel like they need to get a hometown discount, given all their other needs and the fact that they haven't had playoff success with Tavares as a 2C making big money. So, how do you watch an inferior player in Brock Nelson sign for three years at $7.5 million a season and square that with where this has to go? Tavares is 35 this fall, so realistically, this is his last big-money contract with a contender. If he's playing beyond another three seasons, he'll probably be in the cheap old guy mode like Corey Perry, who hasn't made more than this year's $1.15 million the past five years. Advertisement So I'd give Tavares the $22.5 million Nelson signed for, plus some bargain years at the end in the Perry range to bring the AAV down. Make it something like $27-ish million over six years, heavily front-loaded (i.e., around $6 million in the early years), and Tavares still gets a decent last payday and the Leafs get their cap relief. Mix in a little deferred money and the cap hit is a shade under $4.5 million, which is going to be a nice win for at least the next couple of years. To me, that's a fair compromise contract. But this negotiation hasn't exactly been easy, so we'll see if they can get there or not in the next two weeks. Is Matthews not good enough to drive a line with Knies and a journeyman on his own? Like Sidney Crosby in the past or Draisaitl? — Roland C. No, I think he can do it. When healthy, of course. The only caveat I'll add to that is the Leafs are typically needing to have Matthews play the big shutdown minutes and eat D zone draws in addition to wanting him to score. Leon Draisaitl benefits from having some of the checking attention focused on McDavid, which hasn't always been the case in Toronto with the way they've gone top-heavy with their lineup construction. If the Leafs can build three lines that are threats, that helps Matthews. It's even better if one of the other lines can handle some tougher matchups, which hasn't regularly been the case for most of the Core Four era. I think as long as you're giving Matthews and Knies someone who is a strong two-way player with some hockey sense, that should be able to be a strong first line. Can't help but wonder if Marchand, even at 37, might fit the bill. I don't see many internal options that make sense, given they need some defensive responsibility mixed with offensive ability, so going outside to fill that top-line RW spot makes the most sense. Patrick Kane, Reilly Smith and Connor Brown are a few other UFA names who might make sense there, if that's the route they decide to go. But there aren't many to choose from. It's a downgrade from Marner, certainly, but that's why the Leafs are going to need more from down the lineup than they've had in the past. It's imperative they get those additions right. (Top photo of Mitch Marner, William Nylander and John Tavares: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)
Edmonton Journal
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
William Nylander, Leon Draisaitl lead European pre-Olympic picks
Article content Among Swedes joining Nylander are Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog, who made a late-season return from injury for the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman. Sweden's great rival, Finland, named Aleksandar Barkov, who hopes to win a second Stanley Cup this week with the Florida Panthers, plus three Dallas Stars; Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen and Anton Lindell. Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes with Jusse Saros in net. The Swiss will be bolstered by Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators, two New Jersey Devils in Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, and Winnipeg Jet Nino Niederreiter. Germany leader is Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl, this year's Rocket Richard Trophy winning scorer with 52 goals, a further 33 playoff points to date, and Ottawa Senators Tim Stutzle. Czechia's six pack includes Boston great David Pastrnak, defenceman Radko Gudas and goaltender Lukas Dostal. Two netminders were prominent in Latvia's selections, Elvis Merzlikins of Columbus and Vancouver Canuck Arturs Silovs. Canada and the U.S. are expected to unveil their top six later Monday.
Toronto Sun
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Toronto Sun
William Nylander, Leon Draisaitl lead European pre-Olympic picks
William Nylander #88 of Team Sweden skates against Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off game at the Bell Centre on February 15, 2025 in Montreal. (Photo by) It's nearly the summer solstice, but the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan are suddenly on the minds of hockey fans. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account That's because the competing nations began rolling out their first six selections this week, starting Monday morning among the European powers. For the Toronto Maple Leafs, the news was not surprising that 45-goal right winger William Nylander is in Team Sweden's first half dozen. He's represented Tre Kronor on numerous occasions and flew across the pond after the Leafs were eliminated in May to play at the end of the world championships in his home country, eventually finishing third after the United States beat Switzerland, who'd upset Canada, in the gold medal game. Among Swedes joining Nylander are Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog, who made a late-season return from injury for the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning captain Victor Hedman. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Sweden's great rival, Finland, named Aleksandar Barkov, who hopes to win a second Stanley Cup this week with the Florida Panthers, plus three Dallas Stars; Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen and Anton Lindell. Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes with Jusse Saros in net. The Swiss will be bolstered by Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators, two New Jersey Devils in Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, and Winnipeg Jet Nino Niederreiter. Germany leader is Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl, this year's Rocket Richard Trophy winning scorer with 52 goals, a further 33 playoff points to date, and Ottawa Senators Tim Stutzle. Czechia's six pack includes Boston great David Pastrnak, defenceman Radko Gudas and goaltender Lukas Dostal. Two netminders were prominent in Latvia's selections, Elvis Merzlikins of Columbus and Vancouver Canuck Arturs Silovs. Canada and the U.S. are expected to unveil their top six later Monday. lhornby@ X: @sunhornby Sunshine Girls World Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Canada
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hear from Johnston's Kadin Nguyen on the Dragons' 2-1 4A state semifinal win over Ames
Zibanejad, Nylander, Markström, Andersson Disappointed After Swedish Semifinal Loss To USA They assembled a strong roster to try to win gold on home ice, and the path to victory seemed to grow a little wider when Canada got knocked out in the quarterfinals, but following a disappointing 6-2 loss to the USA in the semifinals, the best the Swedes can now do is bronze. 1:38 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
