Overview
General manager Tom Fitzgerald has been a busy man. Between drafting Simon Nemec second overall, and signing Ondrej Palat to a five-year contract. Let’s also not forget he traded for goaltender Vitek Vanecek and defensemen John Marino. Upgrades have been made in all areas on the ice.
The work does not and should not have to stop there. There are other ways to continue to improve and give New Jersey the best shot at being a playoff team next season.
William Nylander can be an answer to this possibility. Nylander has been a trade suspect for quite some time and the Devils could pounce on the star winger.
Nylanders’ Background
William Nylander was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2014 NHL Draft. The young swede was taken eighth overall, and has helped form the core that is currently in place with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Throughout his career, Nylander has skated in 439 games and has scored 137 goals, 206 assists, and 343 points. Nylander has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. During his tenure in Toronto, he has skated in 39 playoff games.
The Statistics
William Nylander has been a consistent top-six winger in the league since his arrival. In addition to scoring 343 points in 439 games, he has also been a threat on the powerplay. He has a total of 42 goals and 106 points in his career on the man-advantage unit. The Devils 28th ranked power play this past season would welcome that addition.
Nylander has surpassed the 30-goal mark twice. He is coming off a career season, scoring 34 goals, 46 assists, and 80 points. This would have been good for tops on the Devils. Nylander averaged 3.24 points per 60 minutes and he finished with a Corsi-For percentage at 60.00. Each terrific figures. He is not afraid to shoot the puck as he fired 256 shots on goal.
Nylander is an offensive threat. Playing with skill and speed, he is always looking to make a play. Always a threat when on the ice at even strength, but also on the power play. While not the best defensively, his offensive impact would be felt in the Devils’ lineup.
Why Toronto May Move Him
As we all know, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in a cap crunch. According to Cap Friendly, the team has no financial flexibility and is actually in the negative. Trading Mitch Marner is highly unlikely and not a chance Toronto sends 60-goal scorer Auston Matthews packing. Captain John Tavares holds a no movement clause in his contract as well. That leaves William Nylander, the prime candidate to be moved in order to free up cap space.
Nylander currently has a cap hit of $6,900,00. A player of his skill level and production would be a welcomed addition to any lineup. A top-six winger with his production would boost the top six, especially in New Jersey. The 28-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2023-24 season.
Why The Devils Should Make The Trade
The Devils could use more firepower in the lineup. The team boasts a point producing top six with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt. Tom Fitzgerald added veteran winger and two time Stanley Cup Champion Ondrej Palat to the mix. But why stop there?
With the addition of John Marino and the potential emergence of Simon Nemec, things are crowded on the right side. Damon Severson is a pending unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and would be the Devils best trade chip to land a player such as Nylander. Severson currently has a cap hit of $4,200,000.
William Nylander is a lock in the top six and potentially even the top line. It would give the Devils more balanced scoring and firepower as they don’t need to count on a few guys for goals.