Daily Faceoff Toronto just passed along William Nylander's latest comments on what goes wrong for the Maple Leafs when their system breaks down.
His answer points to communication. It lands days after Nylander admitted something is off with his game, and the Leafs are searching for answers.
Toronto lost 2-3 to the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night, its latest result, and sits 8-7-2 through 17 games. The Leafs are 17th in the NHL and 6th in the Atlantic Division.
Daily Faceoff Toronto noted that Nylander suggests he and the Leafs need to improve their communication when the system breaks down.
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The post gives only that one line, so the full context of his answer isn't clear. But the theme fits what he said earlier in the week, when Nylander admitted something is off with his game.
Nylander has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 17 games. Those are strong numbers on paper, and he's still a -1.
That rating matters because the team is carrying a +6 goal differential. Toronto has scored 62 and allowed 56, which is hardly a group getting buried.
The Leafs are closer to average than broken. The margin between a good start and a bad one is small, and breakdowns away from the structure are where games like Tuesday's get away.
Why Jim Hiller's message matters here
Head coach Jim Hiller already sent Nylander a clear warning on Wednesday. Now the winger is talking about shared accountability on the ice, which is a different conversation than the one Hiller started.
Three power-play goals and four power-play assists show he is producing with the man advantage. The issue he describes lives at 5-on-5, when a play falls apart and nobody is sure who covers what.
Communication problems are fixable in practice, which makes this easier than a talent gap. But they usually show up in the same way every night: a late read, two players going to the same spot, a rush the other way.
If Nylander is right, the Leafs have a clean-up job to do before they host Montreal on Saturday. They are 5-4-1 over their last 10, and another loss would deepen the questions around a team that still hasn't settled on an identity.
Is the Maple Leafs' problem communication rather than talent?
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