The Maple Leafs briefly experimented with Nylander playing up the middle toward the end of the season before moving him back to the wing.
Barring any last-minute breakthroughs on negotiations, it appears the Toronto Maple Leafs will open training without a brand new contract for 27-year-old William Nylander.
While that wouldn’t be much of a surprise given reports that have come out about how far apart the two sides were over the summer and Nylander preaching patience in a recent interview. In his latest ‘32 Thoughts’ blog, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman suggested the Leafs are thinking about playing Nylander up the middle of the ice.
“I also believe the team will consider deploying him at centre from time to time,” Friedman wrote. “It’s been discussed.”
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX6jaDb3eoQ[/embed]
Nylander playing at center is nothing new for the Maple Leafs, but contemplating it so early in a season, is.
In the last few seasons, Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has moved Nylander to the middle of a third line. Sometimes it has been as a demotion after some tough play on the second line or as part of Keefe's experimentation last season as a means to spread out the depth of his star forwards.
Last season, the Maple Leafs acquired Ryan O'Reilly before the trade deadline and that added some unprecedented depth up the middle. At times, they used O'Reilly as a second or third-line centre while moving captain John Tavares to the wing at times.
O'Reilly departed the Maple Leafs at the end of the 2022-23 season. He signed a four-year, $18 million contract with the Nashville Predators on July 1.
There has been some questions going into this season about who would be the team's third-line center. The Maple Leafs signed Max Domi to a one-year, $3 million contract and can play both positions. The club extended David Kampf to a four-year, $9.6 million contract and the 28-year-old primarily skated as the team's fourth-line center. Trying Nylander in the middle could help the team's depth in the position, especially given they are loaded with wingers.
Nylander is coming off his most productive season yet in which he put up career highs in both goals (40) and assists (47). While the experiment hasn’t worked well in the past, perhaps opening training camp in that position could change his fortune at the spot.
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