Nylander impressed with one Leafs UFA signing in particular, believes he'll have a really good year in Toronto
Currently back in Sweden, William Nylander took part in the NHL's European Media Tour that has been going on for the last week or so. During the media tour, Nylander sat down with Elliotte Friedman and Jeff Marek for an interview during their "32 Thoughts" podcast, touching on his training, the Leafs playing in Sweden this season, Rasmus Sandin being traded last year and new additions the Leafs have made this off-season.
Of the new additions that Brad Treliving has made, Nylander was very high on one specifically - fellow Swede, John Klingberg. While many understand that the signing of Klingberg to a 1-year, $4.15M contract was to add more offense from the blueline, some are also puzzled by the signing, given Klingberg's defensive deficiencies.
During the interview, Friedman had asked Nylander, who has actually skated with Klingberg this summer, what he thought about the Leafs having signed defenseman and how he is looking this summer. Nylander, without hesitation, said, "He looks good. I think he'll have a great year," with that trademark Nylander smirk on his face, indicating that fans may be in for a pleasant surprise with Klingberg.
The Leafs are hoping Klingberg can find his 2018-2019 form from when he was with Dallas, and although his defensive struggles can be an issue at times, he was much better defensively in Minnesota this past season following a deadline deal out of Anaheim. As a team, the Leafs were one of the best defensive clubs last season and the hope is that the system and defensive structure they play will help minimize Klingberg's defensive issues.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 25 | 334 ANSWERS Nylander impressed with one Leafs UFA signing in particular, believes he'll have a really good year in Toronto Do you think the John Klingberg experiment in Toronto will be a huge success or a major failure? | ||
| Failure, for sure | 47 | 14.1 % |
| Success, no question about it | 76 | 22.8 % |
| I think he'll just be okay, which is fine | 188 | 56.3 % |
| See results | 23 | 6.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
