Prior to the trade deadline, the Maple Leafs roster shakeup continues…
The trading of popular goalie James Reimer as reported at LWOS;
http://old.lastwordonsports.com/2016/02/27/james-reimer-traded/
Moving Reimer for nothing of consequence, isn’t the only controversial move to send sports scribes racing to their keyboards across Toronto.
Damian Cox: Leafs Ready to Graduate William Nylander
Rumour has it that following the passing of the NHL trade deadline, Marlies forward and former eighth-overall draft selection William Nylander will report to the Toronto maple Leafs for the remainder of the regular season.
Prior to the World Junior Hockey Championships in Helsinki this past December-January, Nylander was busily tearing the AHL to shreds. He led his team and the league in the scoring race by a wide margin, until an illegal neutral zone hit to the head grounded the high-flying Swede for the next month. As a result, Team Sweden, favoured by many to lead all European teams to a championship underwhelmed, despite a splendid coming-out by his younger sibling and flat-mate, Alexander, of the Mississauga Steelheads.
Upon his eventual return to the Marlies, Nylander picked up where he left off. He currently sits eleventh overall in AHL point leaders and is tied for sixth in goals, however, he has appeared in just 37 of 55 contests. Clearly, he is a special talent at the AHL level, and there is every reason to believe he can make that high-flying game translate in the bigs, some day soon. But does that have to be now?
Nylander plays a high-risk-high-reward style whereby he is required to be an offensive-zone catalyst to either open up scoring lanes for his line-mates, or to rifle home a wrister from a high-percentage area. He’s equal measurss puck-carrier, distributor, and sniper, and he’ll be heavily targeted throughout his career once he makes the jump.
Of particular concern is his penchant for that lateral movement in the offensive zone a ’la Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks. When you have Toews or Panarin or Anisimov out there making your opponent sweat in their own zone, there’s a high probability of success. When you’re a rookie, and a virtual army of one, chances are you’re getting rocked early and often by larger, heavier opponents than you may be used to encountering.
It’s a man’s game, and a contact sport, and all that other rhetoric; I get that. And, I agree, but when you strip-mine your club of virtually all of its veterans, then send the only real toughness (Rich Clune) back to the AHL, what chances of survival – to say nothing of success – are you giving Nylander? Is this a move to placate seasons ticket holders? Is it supposed to motivate tha player and give him a taste of what to expect in years to come?
Of course, Nylander will be up for the challenge, because he’s a natural competitor and he wants to lead and be a difference-maker. That’s ingrained in his DNA. That doesn’t make throwing him to the wolves, be they opponents, local sports media, or fans, any more prudent.
Compare and contrast this scenario with the way Detroit develops talent. In the Red Wings system, rookies are insulated by layers of veteran depth, and exposure and expectations are carefully managed. While there are no goons out there enforcing any sort of code, nobody on that Detroit roster would hesitate to come to the aid of a teammate taking excessive abuse, especially a rookie. Can the Maple Leafs, in this current state, offer the same buffer, or does playing for the crest on the front come part-and-parcel with a bullseye on the back for the kid with arguably the best offensive skillset on the 50-man roster?
Colour me a crazy-pants, but the thought of Nylander left to his own devices against seasoned NHL’ers on a threadbare roster sounds like all sorts of bad luck and trouble coming, serving little-to-no purpose for either the Leafs, or one of its most promising prospects.
One final factor to consider is that Nylander is 19, and as long as he stays in the AHL (this season) his Entry-Level contract will roll-over meaning that he will be able to play three full seasons before hitting restricted free agency. However, if Nylander is to play 10 games as a Maple Leaf, he will burn a year off the deal.
Don’t misunderstand; nothing at all wrong with a handful of games to fuel his desire, but over-exposing Nylander to the NHL’s rigours by leaving him up there for 22 games when he should be ramping up for a Calder Cup run is about as counter-intuitive to the Leafs’ long-term plans as any blunder in modern blue and white history. Here’s hoping Damian Cox’s intel is off the mark…
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