Alex Nylander Making a Case For an NHL Contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs After Torrid Start
While Alex Nylander didn't have the best of training camps, he's showing the Toronto Maple Leafs' brass what he's truly capable of after red hot start to AHL season.
After signing an AHL contract over the summer, Alex Nylander had his sights set on a potential run with the Maple Leafs to start the season. It was going to be tough sledding with the amount of in-house options he had to contend with at training camp, but there was always an opportunity for the former first round pick.
Unfortunately, the younger Nylander brother wasn't able to stand out during training camp and was sent down to the minors to play for the Toronto Marlies.
That might've been the kick in the pants that he needed to get things rolling, because in just 5 games, Nylander has tallied 5 goals and 6 points and is behind only Logan Shaw for the team lead. Nylander carries a 5-game point streak and has scored a goal in 4 straight games as well.
While the likes of Shaw, Roni Hirvonen, and Alex Steeves have also done very well to start the season, Nylander has a slight leg up on his counterparts with 121 games of NHL experience.
If he continues to produce well into the first full month of the season, the Maple Leafs might not have a choice but to reward him with a contract and a call-up.
Nylander has 25 goals and 49 points in 121 games spread across 6 seasons with 4 different teams. His best year came in 2019-20 when he tallied 10 goals and 16 assists in 65 games, but his most impressive stint in recent years came at the end of last season after being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the Swedish winger racking up 11 goals and 15 points in a 23-game stretch.
There has been no indication that the Leafs will offer the 26-year-old an NHL contract imminently, but if he continues to perform like he has to begin his season, it's only a matter of time.
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