Maple Leafs Coach Craig Berube Addresses William Nylander's Play Amid Mid-Season Slump
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs is goalless in his last eight games, and head coach Craig Berube believe he knows exactly what's wrong with the Swedish sniper.
While Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube recently compared the team to his 2019 Stanley Cup-winning St. Louis Blues, there are definitely some obvious areas of concern.
One of them, right now, is forward William Nylander, who has no goals in his last eight games, and no points in his last four despite a hot start to the 2024-25 season.
As for what the issue is, Berube believes he has it nailed down. He told reporters what he's seeing right now in Nylander is a lack of confidence.
"I think sometimes skilled players and scorers lose their confidence a little bit. And that's what I see right now with Willy: a little bit of a lack of confidence. And for me, it's talking to him about just working his way out of the situation."
As for how he gets out of it, Berube said it all rests with Nylander putting his head down and continuing to work.
"You can't just relate to, 'Well, I need a break.' Work your way out, get your breaks, work for your breaks. That's the biggest thing for me is just get him back to work a little bit more. And being more tenacious on pucks and puck battles and things like that. When he was scoring a lot his puck battles were extremely high, and he was playing with more pace. He's just kind of not playing with the same pace right now."
The Maple Leafs need their best players to be their best players going down the home stretch and into the playoffs to have any hope for a deep run.
Meanwhile, the Leafs are looking to extend their win streak to aix games as the team prepares to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh tonight before returning home to Toronto this weekend.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 9 | 1472 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Coach Craig Berube Addresses William Nylander's Play Amid Mid-Season Slump Do you think Crag Berube is right in his assessment of what's going on with William Nylander? | ||
| Yes | 932 | 63.3 % |
| No | 221 | 15 % |
| I'm not sure | 319 | 21.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
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