Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube wanted more from William Nylander.
The Maple Leafs’ slick winger still — by his own admission — isn’t quite up to speed with the NHL season just over a week old.
Tuesday’s performance was certainly a step in the right direction.
Nylander assisted on two goals, including the go-ahead effort from linemate John Tavares, before adding an empty-netter as Toronto downed the Nashville Predators 7-4 to get back on track following consecutive losses.
“Willie did what he does,” Berube said. “He had the puck, he was doing his thing, he was making good decisions, driving it deep, and doing what he does in the offensive zone.”
The Stanley Cup-winning bench boss said before the game he enjoys conversations with Nylander — an ultra-talented forward with a polarizing history in hockey’s biggest media market — to gain a different perspective on the game.
The pair had a chat after Berube called out the Swede to the media after Monday’s 3-2 home loss to the Detroit Red Wings that came on the heels of a 6-3 setback to the same team Saturday night.
Nylander was asked, following Tuesday’s triumph, what their most recent talk was like.
“It was just a good conversation,” he said. “About it.”
The 29-year-old has scored at least 40 times each of the last three seasons and was two points shy of hitting 100 in 2023-24. Nylander, however, entered Tuesday with an empty-net goal in an opening-night victory over the Montreal Canadiens to go along with three assists and just three shots on target.
“It’s coming along,” he said when asked to rate his performances through four contests. “It’s always slow at the beginning of the season, so just getting that back.”
Nylander added that his comfort level in certain areas is usually just slightly off early in the schedule.
“Hard to explain,” he said. “But just that feeling in certain situations of what to do, but it is what it is.”