The radar always goes up when the Canadian media starts to drop tidbits about the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto has been struggling this season, and to the surprise of no one, the media has been all over their backs. One player who is starting to get the brunt of the abuse is William Nylander, who seems to have taken on the role of scapegoat now that Mitch Marner fled the city for Las Vegas.
The question is, will Nylander follow suit and leave town? With six seasons remaining on his contract after this one, he won't be able to take the Marner route while he is still in his prime, but that doesn't mean the Maple Leafs won't look to cause some upheaval in the dressing room by trading their misunderstood star. If they do, the Boston Bruins should be first in line to add some much-needed offensive punch and reunite Nylander with his old friend, David Pastrnak.
Alarm bells started ringing for me on the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast with Elliotte Friedman and Kyle Bukauskas. Friedman shared a never-before-heard story about an incident between the Leafs and Amazon. There was an alleged argument between Nylander and former head coach Sheldon Keefe, and Nylander's camp and the NHLPA made sure to wipe off the show to avoid making the forward look bad.
Bukauskas also brought up a quote from former general manager Kyle Dubas that did air on the show, with Dubas saying, "William Nylander has the absolute unique ability to drive you nuts in one moment, and then do something in the next that nobody else in the world can do."
Now, why would the media start pushing a negative narrative about Nylander when the Maple Leafs are in the middle of one of their worst slumps of this era? It sure would help fans accept a potential trade if the media made Nylander look like the bad guy on the way out. Just something to think about.
A potential Bruins-Maple Leafs trade that would change the organization
I'd be the first to say that Nylander's laissez-faire attitude would probably drive me up the wall by the first week of the season. However, the Bruins have enough defensive responsibility scattered throughout their lineup that it can make up for Nylander's faults, something that his current team doesn't have. The Bruins also have a culture that players like Pastrnak buy into, again, something Nylander's current team doesn't have.
It'd be a costly endeavour to bring Nylander into the fold. Maybe the Maple Leafs already realized they have to stop making deals with the Bruins, but they probably should've learned after the Tuukka Rask deal or the Phil Kessel deal. With that track record, it's possible that the Fraser Minten trade was the one that put them over the edge.
Nevertheless, it'd be a fun addition to dream about. Even if the Bruins don't end up acquiring Nylander, don't be too surprised if the Maple Leafs make a deal that changes the culture and make-up of their team sooner rather than later.