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2024-25 Toronto Maple Leafs General Discussion

Ozzie said:
It will be fun to watch Nylander and Nylander on the same line. Who would be the third forward?
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I would guess they'll keep Robertson with Holmberg and Willy like they practiced today, and possibly play Alex with Minten and Grebenkin on L3 (they were a trio on the Marlies before the call-ups began).
 
A decision is coming. Alex Nylander has to clear waivers to return to the Marlies. Other teams had offered him a NHL deal so there's a good chance he won't clear. Someone else might get sent down to avoid it. He has a little window to win a spot.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
By most reports Nylander hasn't exactly dummied the AHL like we had probably hoped he would (although he is coming off of a 3-point game, just his 2nd multi-point effort of the season). But with 6 forwards now on the IR/LTIR and also Reaves suspended obviously options were getting pretty limited. Hope he makes the best out of this.
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I assume he has to be waived to be sent down? Is Willy losing his brother living in Toronto more detrimental to Willy's well-being than not having Alex play for the big club? I thought the Alex Marlie's signing was more for Willy than it was for Alex actually contributing to the big club.
 
cw said:
A decision is coming. Alex Nylander has to clear waivers to return to the Marlies. Other teams had offered him a NHL deal so there's a good chance he won't clear. Someone else might get sent down to avoid it. He has a little window to win a spot.
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In all honesty though if he does get claimed, is it that much of a loss?
 
Ozzie said:
www.nhl.com

Maple Leafs Sign Alex Nylander to a one-year Contract | Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that the hockey club has signed forward Alex Nylander to a one- year contract. The contract is worth $775,000. With the signing, Nylander has been recalled to the Maple Leafs while forward Matthew Knies has been placed on injured reserve (upper body)...
www.nhl.com www.nhl.com



It will be fun to watch Nylander and Nylander on the same line. Who would be the third forward?


A. Nylander - Minten - W. Nylander
Robertson - W. Nylander - A. Nylander
A. Nylander - Holmberg - W. Nylander
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Nylanders on all top 3 lines? I like it!
 
Will be interesting to see how the opportunity is handled regarding Robertson/Nylander, as well as how they respond. Who gets the first shot in the top-6? I've liked a lot about Robertson's game this year, other than the not-scoring thing. Haven't really watched Nylander other than during this preseason, where I thought he was pretty much invisible.

Robertson is younger, Nylander is bigger but does he use that size at all...didn't appear so in preseason. In any case, at least one of them will be gone if the team ever gets healthy enough...which will it be.
 
Joe S. said:
In all honesty though if he does get claimed, is it that much of a loss?
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Probably not.

He was a #8 overall pick but at 26, a bust. He showed a flicker of maybe helping at the NHL level in Columbus last year. 11 goals, 15 pts in 23 games. Maybe ... he's a late bloomer for 2nd/3rd line after being on the scrap heap. He is probably more likely to fit that role on a bottom feeder if he can get close to what he did in Columbus. He probably has a very short window to prove himself in Toronto - where he turned down NHL deals from other teams to play. So there is a fair amount of pressure. If he falls a little short, the chances of him being picked up off waivers are greater than if he totally bombs out. That is the intrigue provided by him having to clear waivers. A game within a game.
 
Nylander is looking good.

Upon a quick look at these Marlies players...... Grebenkin excites me to most and probably has the most staying power in the line up.

When some of these injuries are cleared, he can replace a Reaves and Robertson. He's a crazy M@thaf#ker with hands.
 
This impressed me the most
by not taking chances, they’ve avoided turning one-goal deficits into bigger holes. Here’s where they’ve ranked in turnover chances against per game in each of the past two seasons:

2023-24: 3.84 (31st)

2024-25: 2.90 (6th)
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Joe S. said:
In all honesty though if he does get claimed, is it that much of a loss?
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I think if he plays well enough in whatever time he gets up here before injuries start to clear up then the Leafs would probably seriously consider trying to keep him around, especially considering how non-existent offence has been in the bottom-6. If he doesn't play well enough to warrant sticking around then he likely won't really be much of a waiver threat.
 
Per Berube a couple of days ago, they’re taking this lull in the schedule to focus on some offense work that was not a priority previously.

Matthews is a maybe for Wednesday, but I think after such a long layoff it would be very funny if he did an AHL conditioning stint
 
Alex has a lot of his brother's offensive attributes. He skates well. Has a good shot. Can distribute the puck. Has good hands. Is a threat to steal a puck and put it in the net very quickly. etc. He's not as good at it as his brother but those are all NHL caliber skills in his possession. He's had much of that talent since he was drafted. So there is a fair chance Alex could put up some points while he's with the Leafs. However, looking at his history:

In 2016, Sabres drafted him 8th overall.

In 2019, Buffalo gave up on him and got a decent (1st rounder) dman from Chicago in return. He was earning a little above NHL minimum and $70,000 in the minors.

In 2022, Chicago flipped him to the Pens for Sam Lafferty. His stock had fallen. He was earning $874,000 (in minors too).

In October 2022 & 2023, Pens waived him - no takers. He was earning NHL minimum and $300,000 in the minors. Mike Sullivan was reported as describing Alex's game as "still immature". He was reputed as very skilled offensively since he was drafted but "lackadaisical" when it came to his defensive play.

In 2024, Pens sent him & a 6th to Columbus for a prospect that had been drafted in the 4th round who the Pens waived within months. In June, Columbus didn't qualify him at NHL minimum salary.

Currently, although +/- isn't the most reliable stat, he is towards the bottom of +/- among Marlies forwards (-1).

Five NHL teams basically gave up on him because of his defensive play (or lack of it). His brother seems to have a similar problem to a lesser degree. I don't think it is exclusively lack of effort. It strikes me as it is how they think the game. They're so mentally geared to offense, it is harder for them to think as reliably about defense or to make the switch. I'm not in their head so that's just my guess/perception.

He's about to play for a coach that won't have a lot of patience for that.
The coach wants: backcheck - forecheck => ice time.
In five previous stops in the NHL, Alex hasn't been able to do that.
He has a small window of games to demonstrate he can do that to a coach who has been around for a long time looking for it.
 
herman said:
And then he suddenly started playing better too. Everyone should get cut-resistant neck protection (and amulets).
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I remember that when it happened and thinking about so many other times it went bad. Probably the most horrific thing that happens in hockey.

We forget this is a sport with spears in hand and knives on feet.
 
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