William Nylander admits something is off with his game

Mark Masters just passed along William Nylander's candid read on his own game, and the Maple Leafs winger says something is off.

The numbers say otherwise. Nylander has 10 goals and 11 assists in 17 games, and he went home empty on the scoresheet Tuesday night in a 3-2 loss to Utah.

Masters noted that Nylander is producing at a high rate, but the winger feels he hasn't had the puck nearly as much as usual in the neutral zone or the offensive zone.

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Nylander put it in his own words: "I feel like I haven't had puck nearly as much as I usually have in neutral zone, O-zone." He didn't pretend to have the answer either, saying "I don't know exactly what that is coming down to."

Then came the line that matters most, that it's "something trying to get sorted." A player with 21 points doesn't usually go looking for problems, which is why this stands out.

He still fired three shots on goal against Utah, so the chances are there. Three of his goals and four of his assists have come on the power play, which tells you where some of that production lives.

Why Nylander's puck time matters in Toronto

Ice time doesn't explain it. Nylander logged 21:24 on Tuesday, more than Auston Matthews' 20:01, so the coaching staff under Jim Hiller isn't hiding him on the bench.

The issue, if there is one, is what happens during those minutes. Nylander is a player who drives play by carrying the puck through the neutral zone, and he's telling you he's spending less time doing that. A winger who isn't touching it as much but still scores at this pace is a good sign for the points and a worrying one for the process.

The Leafs can't afford to wait around. They sit 8-7-2, 14th in the NHL and sixth in the Atlantic Division, and they had a mock trade idea sending Kucherov to Toronto for Nylander floating around earlier this week. Nothing suggests it's real, but every quiet game from a $11.5 million star feeds that noise.

Toronto's next chance to get him the puck back comes Saturday against Montreal.

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