The NHL playoffs officially kicked off on Tuesday evening, after all the play-in series concluded.
In recent weeks, Leafs head coach Mike Babcock has watched as others have stepped up to fill the scoring void — namely Nazem Kadri, Patrick Marleau and Andreas Johansson — after John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, Mitch Marner and Matthews handled the bulk of scoring early on.William Nylander signs 6-year deal with Leafs at deadlineHockey Night in Canada podcast: Daniel Carcillo speaks out about 'disgusting' hockey cultureAuston Matthews and William Nylander each had a pair of goals in the Maple Leafs 5-2 win over the Buffalo SabresToronto Maple Leafs rookie William Nylander has scored his first career hat trick against the Boston Bruins on Saturday. "I think at the end it becomes a little bit frantic when you go right down to the deadline at the very end and you're trying to make sure everything gets in," Dubas said. "Nylander has 48 goals and 135 points in 185 NHL regular-season games.
Kerfoot breaks into the Blue Jackets zone and draws in three defenders on him. They took on a team that was ranked higher than they are and dictated the pace of the game through their grit and pugnacity. The Toronto Maple Leafs were ousted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in five games, with defense apparently optional for the Leafs.The Toronto Maple Leafs should be looking at the Florida Panthers to help upgrade their defense. Just stuck to our process and worked together with [Nylander's agent] Lewis Gross and William to complete it just under the wire.
William Nylander took his place as the team’s third line center, meaning Kadri is not expected to play tonight against the Washington Capitals. The NHL playoffs officially kicked off on Tuesday evening, after all the play-in series concluded. Sort of. In an encouraging trend, the Maple Leafs came ready to play from first puck drop. You go out and you execute, and win or lose that matters in October against the Red Wings, and it matters in the post season too. Toronto’s ability to do anything even remotely like score a goal at evens was severely limited.On Wednesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs held their exit interviews with their players, who then spoke to the media before starting their second offseason of the year. Going a bit radical and throwing the Maple Leafs, the fourth overall draft pick, as well as a third-round pick either in 2020 or 2021, could be considered in front office discussions.They could pair the draft picks with someone from the minors like Evgeny Svechnikov or a more ample veteran name like Luke Glendening. While Tyler Bertuzzi is a restricted free agent due for a raise, he is a player similar to Nylander and might be enticing for the Maple Leafs.Acquiring Nylander would be more for the benefit of the Red Wings core of forwards, but giving up Bertuzzi would not be in the best interest of the current forwards. The Maple Leafs are going to be in some hot water for the 2020-21 season, given the league implementing a flat salary cap. They've had a great start to the season and I've learned a lot about the coaches and the players and their ability to [stay focused]. The Pieces of the Trade. Honestly, the more I see and hear the Blue Jackets head coach talk to almost anyone, the more I find his shtick tiresome and banal. The New York Rangers have been eliminated from the playoffs by the Carolina Hurricanes. With their payroll being flooded by three top talents, four counting Nylander, moves are going to have to be made.While poaching Maple Leafs talent has been a plan, the likely option of Given Nylander’s success with the Maple Leafs, especially in 2019-20 while he was able to flourish playing alongside Auston Matthews or John Tavares on one of the top two lines. "The worst-case scenario would have been a technical glitch that prevented this in going past the 5 o'clock deadline. Those are the only choices. Most NHL games have some meaning beyond the outcome of the game. Kadri, 28, is having a down year offensively after recording consecutive 30-goal seasons and will now likely miss some time with this head injury. With huge potential holes on their back-end, the Leafs will have to trade from their forward depth to plug their roster gaps on defense. Will William Nylander be the first to go? The highlight package for this game can be found here. Throughout the series we’ve seen Matthews coming low in the defensive zone to support his defencemen and that first shift was a great illustration of his 200-foot play this postseason.Now that the 2019-20 season is officially over for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s time for rumor mongers to go crazy.
William Nylander's contract impasse has finally come to an end. He brings a lot of energy and a lot of offence to our team. "I wish that we were able to get this done before training camp and he was able to be a part of this. As a bit of an appetizer, tonight we have Elliotte Friedman breaking down the Leafs heading into their extended off season. Nikita Kucherov, Auston Matthews, Steven Stamkos, John...I suppose I have to credit the Columbus Blue Jackets and coach John Tortorella for mounting a comeback from a 3-0 deficit to win in overtime 4-3, but it’s tough.