For William Nylander, not even a full 24 hours has elapsed since he and his Maple Leafs were eliminated in 5 games at the hands of the Florida Panthers in Round 2. The Leafs lost a tough one, 3-2 in overtime on Friday, despite outplaying the Panthers for the majority of the game. Nylander was one of the two goal scorers for the Leafs. Now, he's officially off to continue playing in Europe.
After scoring more than a point per game against Tampa in Round 1, Nylander was quite arguably one of the best Leafs in the series against Florida. In years past, there have been a lot of questions raised about his commitment, drive and determination, but in my opinion, none of it has been warranted. Nylander may not be your run-of-the-mill crash and bang playoff hockey player, but he's been largely effective and has come up clutch in a number of situations this year, including last night.
The other thing about Nylander, he absolutely loves the game of hockey. He doesn't seem to spend a lot of time sulking. Instead, he's either in the gym or back to playing hockey with Sweden after every Leafs' elimination. His level of commitment is strong and he has made tangible improvements year over year throughout his career.
