Leafs Nation reacts to William Nylander being left off of the new entrance banner at Scotiabank Arena
Leafs Nation is buzzing over the unveiling of a new "Leafs Forever" banner that was hung over the main entrance of Scotiabank Arena, depicting Michael Bunting, T.J. Brodie, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly. The main reason for the buzz? William Nylander, long considered one of the "Core Four" is nowhere to be found on the banner.
There has been a lot of speculation over the 36 hours that perhaps the organization does not view Nylander as a part of their future and could look to trade the 25-year-old winger this summer in an attempt to open up some valuable cap space that they might be able to use to re-sign Jack Campbell, Ilya Mikheyev, Pierre Engvall, Rasmus Sandin and Timothy Liljegren. Not only would Nylander's $6.9M give the Leafs a good running start, but the haul that the Calgary-born Swede would fetch for the Buds would be significant with 2 years remaining on his deal.
The fan reactions to Nylander being left off of the banner were in no short supply, with the Nylander detractors coming out in full force, but also, plenty of Nylanderthal's out there campaigning for their boy.
Whatever the reason that Nylander was left off, there's no denying that each of the players featured on the sign deserve to be there after the seasons they've had. Bunting with his fearlessness and Calder Trophy-worthy season, Brodie with his reliable defensive play, Matthews for obvious reasons, Tavares is the captain, Mitchy for obvious reasons and Rielly, who is your top defenseman. Still, the Nylander omission is a strange one..
| POLL | ||
MAI 1 | 647 ANSWERS Leafs Nation reacts to William Nylander being left off of the new entrance banner at Scotiabank Arena Should the Leafs have included Nylander on the banner? | ||
| Yes | 379 | 58.6 % |
| No | 77 | 11.9 % |
| Don't care - Just win, baby | 191 | 29.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
