William Nylander passes off the Leafs championship belt to a surprising teammate
Following a sensational performance against the New York Islanders on Monday, during which he posted 2 goals and 2 assists for a total of 4 points in one single period, William Nylander was awarded the Leafs championship belt, which is passed from player to player after each game to honour the team's MVP on any given night.
Last night, Nylander had a very difficult decision to make, as there were a number of worthwhile candidates to take possession of the belt. Obviously, Mitch Marner was a prime candidate for his OT heroics. Ilya Samsonov was another solid option, having made a number of timely saves, stopping 27 of 29 shots on the night, limiting the Rangers to just 2 goals and posting a .931 SV%. Nylander, instead, opted to award the belt to a player who is often an unsung hero - defenseman Timothy Liljegren.
Liljegren had not been awarded the belt yet this season prior to last night, but Nylander passing it off to him had nothing to do with just giving everyone a turn. Liljegren earned his turn with the belt for his stellar play, posting a goal and an assist in nearly 22 minutes of ice time for the Buds last night. He was also not on for a single goal against.
Following the game, Liljegren spoke on getting the belt for the first time this season with a huge smile on his face.
-Liljegren on having the belt given to him from Nylander
As far as what he had said to the team following the big win, well, Liljegren admitted that he was a man of few words, saying "good comeback win", after he took possession of the belt.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 26 | 678 ANSWERS William Nylander passes off the Leafs championship belt to a surprising teammate Did Willy pass the belt off to the right teammate? | ||
| Yes, Liljegren was great | 606 | 89.4 % |
| No, it should have gone to Samsonov | 34 | 5 % |
| No, it should have gone to Marner | 32 | 4.7 % |
| No, it should have gone to someone else | 6 | 0.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
