Maple Leafs Shouldn't Move Star Winger

The Toronto Maple Leafs are again considering moving one of their best wingers to center.

Apr 27, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (88) skates during the warmup before game four of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images / Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

The 2024-25 season hasn’t even started and people are already discussing changes within the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup. Not quite trades or roster cuts, but where their superstars are going to lineup.

William Nylander is one of the best wingers in the NHL, but TSN discussed the idea of him transitioning to the center position.

“The thought of moving William Nylander from the wing to center,” Gino Reda asked. “Is a brilliant experiment or a recipe for disaster?”

Analyst Craig Button was quick to point out that moving Nylander to center isn’t a new thing for the Maple Leafs, and there’s a reason it’s never stuck.

“It would be wonderful if it was the first time we’ve heard about this experiment,” Button said. “But it’s an experiment that has been tried a number of times. And it’s an experiment that has had no staying power.”

If you look into information about Nylander, he is often listed as a center, but hasn’t taken more than 56 faceoffs since the 2019-20 season. Sure, Nylander was a center to start his career, but he’s proven to be far superior on the wing.

Through the first four full seasons of his career, Nylander played in 285 games and scored 208 points (80G-128A). He also won 51.2% of his draws in that time.

After transitioning to the wing full-time before the 2020-21 season, Nylander played 296 games and put up 307 points (131G-176A). He still takes faceoff on occasion, but nowhere near the same rate.

“You’re going to take an elite winger and now you’re going to think about putting him into the middle of the ice,” Button said. “Just trying to be competent in that area of the ice is going to take some time and patience.”

Button says that the way the Maple Leafs have routinely abandoned the idea of Nylander at center shows they don’t have that kind of patience.

“The Leafs have shown that they don’t want to take that time and patience with William Nylander,” Button said. “And William Nylander has shown that he excels at a winger.”

Button went on to say that the thought of moving Nylander to the wing speaks to a bigger problem the Maple Leafs are faced with an that’s a top-notch second-line center. Even if they think Nylander is a viable option, they’ll be better served keeping him to the wings.

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