Two preseason games probably aren’t enough of a look to definitively say that William Nylander can’t play centre in the NHL (especially with one cut notably short by an unfortunate Nick Robertson play). It is however enough time to learn that there is work to be done if this is something that is ever going to happen. While there is nothing wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs cutting their losses and accepting that they will instead have one of the best offensive wingers in the league instead, the questionable depth that Toronto has at centre does make the idea worth pursuing for a little while longer as injuries and in-game line shuffling point to having William Nylander play centre will at times be a necessary evil.
A couple of weeks of practice and a couple of preseason games point to a few ideas that can inform the path to success. And as Craig Berube put in Friday (via TSN), Nylander needs to work on his face-offs (he’s won 4-of-9 5v5 during the preseason) and his positioning.
The key takeaway was the most predictable outcome heading into this experiment. Nylander isn’t a two-way player and that is going to lead to some bad defensive outcomes. While Nylander’s small preseason 5v5 sample points to him badly out-chancing the AHL competition he was put up against, his lines didn’t account for a single goal but were on for two goals against. With the play being in the opposition’s end roughly 70% of the time, the fact that the 30% in the Leafs’ end was so bad points to some personnel issues with the line.
That brings us to the other key takeaway and that is Max Domi and Nylander together is a bad idea. While the duo was able to keep the puck in the offensive zone for most of their time on ice together, they didn’t produce anything from it despite having far more skill than the AHLers they were often up against. Both Domi and Nylander struggle defensively and in the 9:15 of 5v5 play together in the preseason they managed to be scored against twice. Once with Nikita Grebenkin as the other winger, and the other time with Calle Jarnkrok, whose defensive acumen wasn’t enough to counterbalance the Domi/Nylander duo.
Some of the other things to consider with Nylander at centre is that he didn’t register a single shot on goal at 5v5 in those two games, didn’t have a single takeaway, or register a shot block. Nylander blocking shots in the preseason isn’t something anyone should really want, but presumably, it would have happened by accident if he was playing sound positional hockey in the defensive zone. The fact that having him at centre also seems to be stifling his offence raises the question of what are the Leafs hoping to achieve here.
By Nylander’s own admission prior to training camp, there is a benefit in giving this experiment a real run once it has been started. He has an interest in figuring it out and his puck control and dynamic offensive play should at least hand him as a strong option in 2/3rds of the zones. The Leafs need to figure out how to make the defensive zone less of a burden.
This is where Craig Berube has to give Nylander a chance at success and that isn’t going to include Max Domi. Domi playing with Nylander made sense in that he too has some familiarity with the centre position and he had the potential to be an offensive partner for William. That hasn’t worked and the Leafs need to up the quality of teammate and defensive play and the obvious answer he is to put Nylander with Mitch Marner. Marner has the potential to address a lot of Nylander’s defensive shortcomings and he is an even stronger offensive catalyst, giving Nylander the Leafs’ premier playmaker. Given that Domi had success with Matthews, the trade-off seems viable.
The other player who should see some time with Nylander is likely Bobby McMann. McMann has the speed to keep up with the play and gives Nylander another winger who adds value at both ends of the ice. He brings the missing physical component the line needs. The other option is potentially putting Nylander with Pontus Holmberg on his wing, and allowing Nylander to tap into someone more capable as a centre that can aid in the defensive zone. When the Leafs have a healthier lineup, they can utilize their depth this way and possibly have players like Marner or Holmberg take on F1 responsibilities in their own zone.
The defensive unit also needs to be mindful of which centre they are playing with. Matthews and Kampf will likely be defensive zone comfort food for the Leafs, and even compared to Nylander, Tavares will be a stronger option for the Leafs in their own zone. Pregame planning should involve at least a little line matching as far as Nylander is concerned and trying to play him against lines not known for driving offence might be the best way to get his feet wet with this new responsibility.
I largely standby my assumptions of a few weeks ago when I stated Nylander at centre would be a bad idea, but now that the Leafs have committed to it, giving it a run to start the season seems like the best way of knowing for sure if this anything other than a last resort if Matthews or Tavares are injured this year. The play of Pontus Holmberg in training camp and a one-year contract for Steven Lorentz helps shore up the bottom six centre depth, and once Fraser Minten is healthy it is entirely possible he develops toward being a usable option for the Maple Leafs later this year too.
What seems like it makes the most sense is that Brad Treliving starts calling early and often this year on the possible availability of centres who can be used in the middle of the lineup. For now, at least give Nylander a couple of games with Marner to see if things can work in the best possible circumstances.
Data from Natural Stat Trick
