Maple Leafs demote Nylander to third line ahead of game against Sharks – Hockey Writers –

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been one of the hottest teams in the league over the past two weeks. With five wins in their last six games and six points in their last seven since Nov. 29, they have slowly climbed back up the standings and are just four points shy of a wild-card spot and just five points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Detroit Red Wings.

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Unfortunately, things are not all sunshine and rainbows for everyone with the Maple Leafs. Things have been tough for William Nylander. He has not scored a point in four games and, as a result, it looks like he was demoted by head coach Craig Berube after yesterday’s training.

Nylander demoted in practice

After yesterday’s practice, members of the Maple Leafs national team discussed Nylander’s apparent demotion. Berube did mention during the post-training media chaos that he had a one-on-one chat with his star forward regarding his poor performance over the past few games.

Berube said this:

“I think if I had to look at one thing, he’s got to be more involved, more involved in the game, work through it. That’s what I talked about with him today. All players go through it at some point.”

Nylander, 29, has had an outstanding season so far, scoring 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 25 games. He has been one of the most productive members of the Leafs all season, but unfortunately, he is going through a cold spell and the Leafs need to shake things up.

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So the shakeup sees Nylander move to the third line, playing alongside Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua. On the Maple Leafs’ second line of defense, Nick Robertson replaced Nylander on the wing. Ultimately, we can’t tell if Berube aligns him with Roy and Joshua or as the team’s second line, but we’ll find out later tonight against the San Jose Sharks at 7:00