Nylander establishing himself among NHL's elite amid contract-year pressure

The Maple Leafs and Predators held optional skates at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Saturday.

William Nylander came in No. 40 on TSN's pre-season projection of top NHL players. Early-season returns suggest the 27-year-old winger belongs much higher up that list.   

"William may be one of the best players in the world right now with the stuff he's doing," raved Leafs winger Max Domi. "He's incredible."

Nylander is tied for sixth in NHL scoring with 11 points through seven games. It feels like every night he's making a highlight-reel move. The Predators have certainly taken notice. 

"There's been a couple plays where we all kind of looked at each other and said, 'Woah,'" revealed centre Ryan O'Reilly, who played for the Leafs last season. "We saw it and were like, 'Oh my gosh, he just roasted some guys.'"

The latest example came Thursday in Dallas when Nylander won a puck battle with Miro Heiskanen behind the net before maneuvering past the Stars defenceman and throwing a slick backhand seam pass to Morgan Rielly.

"That one was all Will," Rielly said. 

"Seeing some of the highlights this year, the way he creates, it's pretty unbelievable," said Predators defenceman Roman Josi. "He's got such great speed, but he's also got great skill and is a great passer. He's kind of the whole package."

Nylander, who already has five goals, appears to have reached a new level early this year. 

"When Willy's feeling it, it's pretty special to watch," said Predators defenceman Tyson Barrie, who played for the Leafs in the 2019-20 season. "He's got all the patience in the world. He's got all the skill and he's a competitor too. I mean, when he's on, he's as good as anyone and you're seeing that early this year. I thought he was really good in the playoffs last year too."

Nylander's talent has always been evident, but consistency proved elusive. So far this season he's been on the scoresheet in every game. 

"He's on a mission," observed Leafs defenceman John Klingberg, who played with Nylander at the World Championship a couple times. 

"I knew he was really good," said new linemate Tyler Bertuzzi. "I didn't know how good he was."

How good is he? 

"Really good," Bertuzzi shoots back with a smile. 

"The way he can steal pucks," Domi said, "and pick guys' pockets and stuff, that's something that I didn't realize he was so good at."

Sheldon Keefe is rewarding the strong start with more ice time. Nylander is averaging 20 minutes, which is up from 18 minutes and 33 seconds last season.  

"He just takes control of the game," said O'Reilly. "It will be a tough job to keep him off the board. He's right up there with the best in the league. The plays he's making, it's so hard to defend."

"He's as talented a player as there is in the game," agreed Predators coach Andrew Brunette. "When he's moving and skating, he's really dangerous."

Indeed, Nylander identifies skating as the key to his game. When he's moving his feet, it feels like he's unstoppable. 

"How he's controlling the puck, making plays, taking people on 1-on-1 down low, it's been great to watch," said Leafs winger Mitch Marner. "He's been opening up a lot ice for his teammates." 

Nylander is in the final year of his contract. At the start of training camp, the Swede declared it wouldn't be a distraction. If anything it seems like it's fuelling him. 

"The preparation is probably higher than most years," O'Reilly noted. "That's some added pressure that guys seem to rise too."

"Every time you get a player in a contract year they want to have their best year," acknowledged Barrie. "But Willy's been good for a lot of years so it's probably just a culmination of him developing and feeling really good about his game and it's all coming together for him at the right time." 

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John Tavares is a big part of Nylander's early-season surge. 

"The start they have gotten off to collectively, in terms of the two of them together, is probably the best they have played and the most in sync they have been," said Keefe. "It has been terrific for us."

Tavares is matching his linemate point for point so far while playing the more demanding centre position. 

"He has also had a tremendous attention to detail defensively," Keefe pointed out. "He is really taking charge of being a leader on that line and is really looking to execute the details of our defensive structure, which I think helps his linemates to be good offensively. It helps Willy to take some extra chances here and there. John has really respected the structure and the system while still finding ways to produce on offence."

Tavares sealed Thursday's win by scoring into an empty net in Dallas. He's up to four goals and seven assists in seven games. 

"Obviously have all parts of my game going," the 33-year-old said. "Generating offence has been a calling card since I was a kid."

What hasn't been a calling card for Tavares is skating. But he has worked closely with team consultant Paul Matheson to improve in that area. Per new NHL Edge data, Tavares' top speed of 35.8 kph is in the 88th percentile in the league and faster than at any point last season. His 12 bursts between 32-35 kph put him in the 80th percentile in that category.

"It's a good sign," Tavares said "You put in hard work and find ways to keep getting better, keep pushing yourself. It's good to see that hard work is paying off. It's an area I've always had to work at. It's never come easy or natural."

Old teammates aren't surprised to see the meticulous Tavares is finding ways to fend off Father Time.

"Even at his age, he's still trying to get better," said Barrie. "His dedication is second to none. I liked how he always travelled with his own olive oil and Himalayan sea salt. He'd pull it out of his backpack for the pregame [meal]." 

Josi played with Tavares in the Swiss league when the start of the 2012-13 NHL season was delayed due to a lockout. 

"I was having a protein shake and he was talking to me about gluten," Josi recalled of their days together in Bern. "I didn't even know what gluten was at the time. He was trying to explain to me that you shouldn't have gluten in your protein shake so that's kind of my memory about him and the first time I learned about gluten so I'm thankful for that."  

On Friday, Tavares was the last player on the ice at practice. O'Reilly, who was the last player on the ice at Predators practice, is impressed with how Tavares finds a way to maximize every moment.   

"Before practice I would watch him to see what he's doing and how dialled in he is to specifically what he wants to accomplish before practice gets going," O'Reilly said. "There's a reason he's the player he is. He's such a good pro. I admired it so much playing with him."

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Defenceman Jake McCabe will miss Saturday's game with a groin injury, but is expected to return sooner than initially feared. 

"We got good news yesterday," said Keefe. "Probably best-case scenario for us so not expecting him to miss any sort of significant time. We'll see him back before too long."

In McCabe's absence, 40-year-old Mark Giordano will move up to the second pair with Timothy Liljegren. 

"Gio's been off to a really good start to the season for us and we don't expect that to change despite the fact he may need to play a little bit more," said Keefe. 

"Any player wants to play more and I'm no different," said Giordano, who is averaging 16 minutes and nine seconds of ice time per game, which is lowest among the team's blueliners. "I'm a lot older than most guys, but I enjoy playing."

Giordano, who is the oldest player in the league, stepped up early last season when the Leafs suffered a series of injuries on the back end, but then faded badly in the playoffs. 

"Wasn't happy with how the playoffs went and that pushed him to have a great summer and make some changes in how he prepared," said Keefe. 

Giordano aimed to get lighter on his feet and arrived at training camp five or six pounds lighter. 

"Definitely enough where I noticed a difference," the Toronto native said. "I'll try to continue that. It's hard. There's about 20 meals sitting around every day at the rink and around the hotel so you got to be disciplined."

The one thing Giordano has always had is smarts. 

"If you look at a lot of the things that have caused us some trouble as a team or some of the individuals at times it's trying to do a little bit too much," said Keefe. "Gio just knows who he is and gives you everything he has on every single shift. It's a pretty good recipe for success especially early in the season."

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Keefe expects assistant coach Mike Van Ryn, who runs the defence, to move things around and spread the minutes in Nashville. 

Rielly played more than 26 minutes on Thursday in Dallas after McCabe got hurt on the first shift. 

"He's been great," said Giordano. "I don't know how he's not being talked about more, to be honest, across the league. In my opinion, I don't know who'd be better than him on the back end now. He's contributing at both ends of the rink. Obviously plays all situations and I just think, quietly, he's been one of the better d-men in the league this year."

Rielly has posted a goal and an assist in each of the last two games. He's up to seven points on the season. 

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Former Predator Calle Jarnkrok caught up with good friend and fellow Swede Filip Forsberg on Friday night. 

"See if he approves my cooking," Forsberg said with a smile. 

"It was great, actually," Jarnkrok said of the chicken tikka masala. "It was really good. He didn't make it so he can't take any credit for it, because it was good food. It's always nice to come back here and see him and his wife Erin. It was a good time."

Forsberg isn't surprised to see Jarnkrok playing on Toronto's top line with Auston Matthews and Marner. 

"He's such a smart player," said Forsberg. "Almost every year he starts on one of the lower lines and he ends at the top or second line, because he's so versatile and has that sneaky skill too that he's not getting enough credit for ... He's close to 20 goals almost every year with barely getting any ice time especially in those offensive situations." 

Jarnkrok scored a career-high 20 goals during his first season in Toronto. 

"He's got an elite shot too that he needs to use a little more, but hopefully not [tonight]," Forsberg said.

"I think he's right," Jarnkrok said. "I got to get my shot going more."

Is that tougher when you play on a line with Matthews and Marner? 

"No, it's probably easier, because they give me the puck in good spots," Jarnkrok said. 

Jarnkrok has fired just 10 shots on net this season or 1.4 per game, which is down slightly from 1.45 last season. 

What's the key to getting more shots? 

"It starts with if you get a chance to shoot it you shoot it instead of looking for an extra pass or wherever," Jarnkrok said. "Just try and get it to the net more."

"He's 32 but he keeps improving," notes Forsberg. "It's impressive to see and there's more there for sure."

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The NHL and October's Very Own, a Canadian lifestyle brand co-founded by Toronto rapper Drake, recently unveiled a new limited-edition collection of Original Six apparel. Domi and dad Tie Domi helped model the hoodies, t-shirts, varsity jackets and cuffed beanies, which are co-branded with the OVO owl insignia. 

"Drake's just a friend of my dad's and I's so he asked us to do it," Domi explained. "You're not going to say, 'No,' to that guy."

What was it like to be a model? 

"With or without my teeth," joked Domi, who's missing a couple of his top teeth. "Honestly, I've done it enough. It's fine, but I'm not going to sign up to be a full-time model anytime soon, that's for sure."

The pictures created a buzz among teammates. 

"They enjoyed it," Domi said. "I think they liked it. That's a good thing, I guess. I can definitely see how it can go the other way."

"I was all over him about that yesterday," Giordano said. "I want one of those sweaters or jackets. I'm very jealous."    

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O'Reilly was asked if the intense spotlight in Toronto was a big factor in his decision not to return to the Leafs. 

"I don't think as much as people thought," the 32-year-old from Clinton, Ont. said. "I think that kind of got a little blown out of proportion. There's so many other things that came into my decision."

That said, O'Reilly enjoys the quieter lifestyle in Nashville.  

"I do like it down here in that sense where you do kind of fly under the radar," he said. "I can take my kid to hockey and a few people know you're involved [with the NHL team] but it's much different. I can be there and be able to engage with him more. It's something that, at this point of my career, I think I enjoy, [being] able to spend more time with my kids and enjoy that with him."

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Mississauga, Ont. native Philip Tomasino and Scarborough, Ont. native Liam Foudy will draw into the Predators lineup on Saturday, Brunette confirmed. It will be Foudy's first game since being claimed off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

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Projected Leafs lineup for Saturday's game: 

Jarnkrok - Matthews - Marner 
Bertuzzi - Tavares - Nylander 
Knies - Kampf - Domi 
Gregor - Holmberg - Reaves 

Rielly - Brodie 
Giordano - Liljegren 
Lagesson - Klingberg 

Samsonov starts 
Woll