5 teams that must be all-in on William Nylander this summer

One of the hottest conversations around hockey right now is the play of Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander. On a team loaded with talent, which might be an understatement, Nylander has stood out above them all.

Nylander has had a point in every game the Maple Leafs have played so far this season and we aren’t five games in anymore. Having a 17-game point streak at any time of year is incredibly impressive and this one is to start the year.

He just had the weekend of his life as his family and friends watched him play in Sweden. The Toronto Maple Leafs went there with three other teams as a part of the NHL Global Series.

There, he had one game where he led a huge comeback win over the Detroit Red Wings and another where he scored in overtime to defeat the Minnesota Wild. It was a brilliant stretch of hockey for him in his homeland.

William Nylander is one of the best players in the National Hockey League

Now, Nylander is amongst the NHL scoring leaders as he has 27 points in the 17 games played. Those 12 goals and 15 assists have helped the Toronto Maple Leafs deal with some early-season rust that needs to be worked out.

He also picked a very good year to be doing this for himself. This is a contract year for him and he seems to be headed for a huge pay upgrade. He has been making $6.9 million against the salary cap for a while now while Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares are all over $10 million.

Nylander is probably in line to have a similar contract once this year is over. Honestly, the Maple Leafs should have signed him while he would have been cheaper. Now, they might not be able to afford him if they don’t get rid of one of the other three.

Auston Matthews is still the best player of the bunch so Nylander could make less than him but more than the other two. Will the Leafs do it or will he walk in free agency this summer? There are a lot of teams that would sign up for his services.

Plenty of teams make sense for Nylander right now. If he were to declare that he is done in Toronto, these are the teams that should be desperately trying to get him:

The Boston Bruins make a lot of sense for William Nylander in the long-term

The Boston Bruins are one of the best teams in the NHL and they have been for a long time. They have elite players, potential future Hall of Famers, at every position. They are a treat to watch just about every time that they play.

Of all those elite players that they have, David Pastrnak is the best of them. In 2022-23, he set career highs in goals (61), assists (52), and points (113). It was an incredible year for him as he was able to put all of his skills together for a full season. The man can skate well, shoot as good as anyone in the league, and make some pretty impressive plays regularly.

The funny thing about him is that he is very good friends with William Nylander. Pastrnak is from Czechia and Nylander is Swedish but they are outstanding pals away from the game. Their whole NHL career has seen them playing for rivals.

If Nylander wants to play with his buddy, going to the Bruins would be an incredible decision. The Bruins would have to make some adjustments to their salary cap to get a deal like that done but it is possible. They might even be wise to trade a good defenseman for help in other areas with or without Nylander.

Seeing Nylander play with Pastrnak would be amazing because they are each great at everything. The things they’d be able to do at even strength and on the power play would be must-see TV. It wouldn’t be a popular move in Toronto but Boston doesn’t care about that.

If William Nylander went to the Montreal Canadiens a lot of people would love it

If you think Toronto would be mad at Nylander for signing with the Boston Bruins, they would be furious if he signed with the Montreal Canadiens. That would be a massive heal turn for Nylander who loves the bright lights.

Montreal is not a good team yet but they aren’t the worst team in the league anymore either. They have some good young players to build around and Nylander would look great with all of them. He’d be an amazing addition to that group.

They are hoping for big things in the long term from kids like Juraj Slafkovsky, Kirby Dach, Nick Suzuki, Lane Hutson, and Cole Caufield but more development is needed for them all. A player like William Nylander would be great for all of them.

Nylander would get his pick of whatever center he wanted to play with there. Who knows, Macklin Celebrini or Cole Eiserman could be options too depending on their lottery luck this upcoming spring.

The NHL is a better place when the Montreal Canadiens are good. Their barn is electric factory when the playoffs enter the building. A player like Nylander might be someone worth considering so they can be that good of a team again.

William Nylander would be perfect for the bright lights of Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Kings are one of the best teams in the league right now. They have slowly but surely built back up into being contenders. They had a couple of high draft picks along the way and most of them have worked out well.

They kept Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty through it all but they have surrounded them with other young stars. By the time the 2023-24 season is over, however, they might be willing to spend some more money on another star.

William Nylander would be a great addition to that team. They have a guy like Quinton Byfield playing on the wing because they have Kopitar with Phillip Danault and Pierre-Luc Dubois down the middle. Nylander would be incredible on any of those lines.

As mentioned before, Nylander likes the bright lights. There aren’t many lights brighter than that of Los Angeles. If he went to the Kings, he’d become a superstar off the ice in the US which might be something he wants.

Scoring all of these goals for the Kings would be fun to see because of the energy that comes with that team. Los Angeles just might be able to capture another Stanley Cup if they made a signing like this.

The New York Rangers would love a player like William Nylander going forward

The New York Rangers are a very good hockey team and they are off to an incredible start. They always seem to find a way to have a disappointing end so they might be looking for change if that happens again.

Nylander can bring it in the playoffs which is not something every star on the Rangers can say. He’d be great on that team for a variety of reasons and that is one of them.

Out of every team on this list, they are the only ones that might consider having Nylander play center. He could also play the wing there too but he can provide some elite depth at center.

With guys like Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Adam Fox amongst other great skaters, Nylander would be joining a juggernaut. The Rangers should be all in on him if he does go to free agency.

Of course, there is the chance that Nylander wants to stay with Toronto. If they can afford it, they should be trying as well. If he is committed to winning with that organization, it would be a noble decision that everybody respects. However, if he has to switch teams, these five would be awesome.