Toronto Maple Leafs: Is Nylander A Center Or A Winger?
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a big question to answer, especially when Tyler Bozak gets healthy, over the next two seasons.
Do the Toronto Maple Leafs play William Nylander at center, or on the wing?
Depth down the middle is worth its weight in gold in the National Hockey League. The ability to spread out three excellent centers is invaluable and causes havoc for the opposition.
When Tyler Bozak is in the mix that likely means Nylander falls to the fourth C, if he’s a center, which is unacceptable from a talent and impact perspective. Having Bozak monitor the middle on the fourth line is a wiser choice from a position of potential offensive damage, but it’s unlikely that the veteran would get placed there.
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It’s much harder for a player to switch to the middle of the ice after playing a few seasons on the wing – which is what Nylander would do if Bozak lives out his contract with Toronto. That means their running the risk of lesser depth two seasons from now if Nylander is formed into a winger.
That being said, with Bozak out, it seems as though Nylander will patrol the third line center position. That gives Toronto a Matthews-Kadri-Nylander middle for their top nine. That’s a top nine with a lot of talent, before you even add any wingers.
In a perfect world, that’s how the entire season would play out. The 19 year old Matthews getting a full year experience and the 20 year old Nylander playing a full year in the middle at the NHL level.
A four deep center group of Matthews-Kadri-Nylander-Bozak would be one of the most talented foursomes in the entire league, regardless of the standings results. They all have the talent to excel at each position.
When Bozak comes back, placing him on the fourth line wouldn’t be a slight of his talents. It would just be a smart, forward thinking move by the organization. It’s hard to imagine a place for Tyler Bozak beyond his contract, and it’s hard to imagine they aren’t listening intently to any and all offers on the veteran.
The Leafs need to develop their young players in the positions they’ll be in when this team becomes competitive. That means Matthews isn’t a third line center and Nylander isn’t a third line winger. Let them all gain experience where they should be playing to make the Leafs a better hockey team.
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