Report: William Nylander wants to remain a Leaf if they retool, not rebuild
The Toronto Maple Leafs are heading into the unknown for the first time with their current core. One of those key players might be willing to stick around if the direction is fair.
In an interview with The Athletic, Maple Leafs forward William Nylander admitted that he’d be willing to be in it for the long haul if the organization is willing to alter the roster to better the team’s chances at winning a championship, not blowing the operation to pieces.
“Unless it was a full rebuild and we were going to get rid of everybody,” Nylander explained in the interview, “Then it’s a different story. Then you take that conversation then. But just to do a retool or whatever, I don’t even know, but I mean, I still want to be here, yeah.”
The Maple Leafs made headlines by firing general manager Brad Treliving earlier in the week, with MLSE CEO Keith Pelley stating at a press conference on Tuesday that the franchise will be looking for a different type of person to step into the GM role. That said, Pelley stated that the new person leading hockey operations should focus on retooling, not rebuilding.
Nylander mentioned a similar tale when he chatted with Treliving leading up to the trade deadline last month, when it started to become clear that Toronto wasn’t going to be contending for a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Brad said that he doesn’t want to rebuild or anything. He just wants to retool and stuff. That sounded fine for me.”
It goes without saying that this has been a forgettable season in Toronto. After winning the Atlantic Division last year, the Leafs have looked like a shell of themselves, compared to the group that kept being tabbed as preseason favorites to compete for the Stanley Cup. Yet, Nylander is “not too worried” about the future of the team, mentioning how current postseason contenders have bounced back from their own adversity.
“You just look at Boston this year…They were not in the playoffs last year and they’re having a pretty good season this year.”
Nylander was asked whether captain Auston Matthews’ decision to stay or potentially go elsewhere would affect his own future.
“I mean, I haven’t really thought about it, like that far. Once they just told me [rebuilding is] not what they want to do…like, try to keep winning here or try to start winning [Stanley Cups]…If that point in time comes, then I’ll think about that then.”
Despite missing some time due to injury, Nylander still leads the Leafs in assists (45) and points (71), having scored 26 goals in 58 games this year.