All-Star Game Snub Should Propel Nylander’s Game To New Heights

Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander was not named to participate in the NHL’s 2022 All-Star Game, and that’s almost criminal, considering the 25-year-old is second on the team with 16 goals (putting him on pace for a career-best 37 goals) and 36 points in 35 games. But it’s Nylander’s play away from the puck that has really changed for the better; he now plays on Toronto’s penalty kill, making him a great all-around special teams contributor, and he still has room to grow.

Nylander’s omission from the All-Star Game should fuel him in the second half of the regular season. He can take out his frustrations against opponents, and fully step into the top tier of NHL stars. As it stands now, he’s already a huge bargain, earning *only* $6.9 million per season through the 2023-24 campaign. The more he grows his game, the more secure his position in Toronto will be. For a while after he signed his current contract. Nylander had to have heard his name in trade rumors, but there’s no way Leafs GM Kyle Dubas will move him now. He has become irreplaceable, and even if his play drops off somewhat, it would be foolish for Toronto to give up on him.

Of course, should the Leafs suck wind again in the playoffs, there will be calls for significant change to Toronto’s roster. But it’s hard to see how the Buds would benefit by shipping Nylander to another team. He’s in the prime of his seven-year NHL career. The Leafs have to take advantage of the two years that remain on his contract after this season. They will not be as fortunate in 2024, when Nylander almost assuredly will earn a major raise. But that’s a conundrum for another day. Dubas and head coach Sheldon Keefe have to live in the present day, and pray to the salary cap gods that the upper cap limit will be sufficiently raised to allow Nylander to remain a Leaf.

But that’s a ways away. For now, Nylander should console himself with a nice break from the punishing NHL schedule, and prepare himself to raise his game even further than he already has this year. If they’re to make it out of the Atlantic Division playoffs, the Leafs are going to need him to play just as well as he has thus far. If he does that, there will be no question Nylander will be a shoo-in for the 2023 All-Star Game.

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To be sure, you can make a case Nylander should already be a shoo-in All-Star. But we all know the NHL has a mandate of choosing one All-Star Game representative from each of the league’s 32 teams. Nylander’s reaction to not being selected for this year’s ASG was not ideal, as he took a shot at Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki being picked for it. He should’ve taken that frustration out in the gym, or on the ice. It’s not about Suzuki being better – he’s got only 19 points in 35 games with the abysmal Habs – but rather, about a process that needs to change. It’s a marketing decision, not a comment on Nylander’s play.

When Nylander played his first NHL games in the 2015-16 season, he was referred to as a one-dimensional competitor who wouldn’t sacrifice his body to make a hard play. Nobody says that anymore about him. That’s the best revenge for him – to continue to ascend as a points-maker, but also, to continue to evolve into a first-rate defensive threat. Players know how much tougher it is to defend against him now.

He doesn’t need any All-Star honors to prevent that. And the Leafs will be thrilled to continue to employ him.

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