The William Nylander Conundrum
Toronto Maple Leafs Swedish sensation, superstar William Nylander, is having a career year and looking to best his previous highs in both goals and points.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs facing a cap crunch crisis and William Nylander due a contract extension this summer, along with the big raise he will undoubtedly be seeking to go along with it, the team should seriously consider trading him this offseason before his NTC kicks in.
The argument for trading Nylander is simple: he's too soft, and trading him would bring back valuable assets, while freeing up the cap space to make necessary improvements in other areas of the team.
It would be addition by subtraction.
If the Leafs are serious about ditching their soft reputation they need to recognize the teams masculinity and testosterone levels would increase just by trading Nylander alone.
Nylander Is As One Dimensional As A String
With 165 goals and 402 points in 491 career games played there is no denying the offensive skill that Nylander possesses.
The problem is that Nylander is a very one-dimensional player who exemplifies everything wrong with this Leafs team. From being a greedy hold out, to playing a soft style game, William Nylander is the poster child for all the Leafs problems. The doughboy in human form with skates and a hockey stick, Nylander's 121 career hits in almost 500 games played says it all.
By trading him the Leafs can acquire a player who can better complement their existing strengths and address some of their weaknesses.
One of the biggest mistakes, among many, that Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, Kyle Dubas, has made was not trading Nylander to free up the cap space to sign either Pietrangelo, my preference, or Dougie Hamilton in recent years.
The Leafs have been lacking a proper 1RHD for decades, and bringing in a Norris caliber defenseman they sorely need as they get bounced from the playoffs first round every spring should have been made a priority.
That didn't happen.
Nylander Has Trade Protection
As we all know Kyle Dubas, stupidly promised not to trade Nylander. A promise Dubas has faithfully kept his promise over the years, despite enormous pressure to make changes to the roster with each passing playoffs failure.
How will Nylander ever repay him?
With Nylander due an extension this summer, and nothing in his history that would indicate he would be willing to accept a team friendly deal, the Leafs should be looking at trading him now before losing him to free agency for no return.
I have no problems with Kyle Dubas coming across as a hypocrite here.
By freeing up cap space, addressing weaknesses, and bringing back valuable assets in the form of picks and prospects, a Nylander trade would ultimately help the Toronto Maple Leafs achieve greater success than the six first round losses they have accomplished so far with him on the team.
While Nylander is undoubtedly a talented player, the benefits of trading him far outweigh the drawbacks. The guy is a floater and a leetch. But that obviously doesn't matter to William Nylander. In his mind he really is a superstar.
Probably thinks he's the most underpaid superstar there is.
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