William Nylander put up 75 points while everything collapsed around him and that is the real story this year
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
All credit to William Nylander for hitting 75 points for his fifth consecutive season and it's one of the bright spots of a miserable season for Toronto.
With two goals on Saturday night, William Nylander made sure to lock up his 74th and 75th points of the season and put a cap on a very strong season personally despite the Maple Leafs' struggles.
While the team deals with a bottom-five (hopeful) finish, they can certainly look to Nylander as someone who provided a good amount of positivity to this otherwise miserable season.
Good thing too, because they're going to need him badly.
Why the 75-point season from William Nylander makes him the essential piece for the 2027 retool
Although 75 points isn't exactly an explosion of offence, you have to realize he did this in only 63 games and did miss a few weeks of the season in January.
If he would have been healthy and available for those 15+ games he's missed then there's a high chance he could have made it up to the 90-point mark with ease.
But you're going to need that level of production regardless of where your team stands, especially if you're retooling. Stability is a core component, and having Nylander (who can consistently give you 75-80 points) then you've gotta a great fallback option.
While the scoring was down, his playmaking shot up and it seems like although Berube wanted him to shoot more, he wanted to go into a playmaking role.
The quiet excellence of William Nylander during the most difficult Maple Leafs season in recent memory
Suffice to say this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs was one we wanna put away and never remember. From countless injuries, to bizarre lineup decisions, ineffective goaltending and an out of touch coach; Toronto was great at being bad.
But this is also a season to celebrate, especially Nylander. He's genuinely one of the best in the NHL when he cares and can easily change the tide of a game — he nearly did against Florida last night.
When you're staring a retool in the face, you need to have someone like Nylander who can take charge at any moment and take over the game. If Auston Matthews is going to have injury concerns and may not be sticking around; they need Nylander to be the leader.
But with that comes a lot of work on Nylander's end as he needs to prove to everyone that he can consistently play at both ends of the ice and not give up when he gets a little fatigued.
Though if five straight seasons of 75+ points doesn't convince you that Nylander needs to be on the team, then it's going to be a hard sell no matter what.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Marner, McMann and Minten are becoming evidence of Toronto’s biggest roster problem
Marner, McMann and Minten are becoming evidence of Toronto’s biggest roster problem
Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 12|901 ANSWERS William Nylander put up 75 points while everything collapsed around him and that is the real story this year Do you think Toronto needs to make William Nylander their focal point on offence in 2026-27? | ||
| Yes | 584 | 64.8 % |
| No | 317 | 35.2 % |
| List of polls | ||