Insider reveals a possible reason the Toronto Maple Leafs are trying William Nylander at center

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Josh tupper
September 26, 2023 (8:07)

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When William Nylander was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was drafted as a center. At the NHL level however, he's never played down the middle of extended stretches. Heading into this year's training camp the Maple Leafs made it clear though, they were trying Nylander down the middle for an extended period of time.

After Nylander's best statistical season it came as a surprise that the Leafs would make this change. Why would the Leafs not want to build on last season? Instead they decided to task Nylander with a much tougher role.

One NHL Insider believes they have an idea why. On TSN Radio, Insider Darren Dreger shares the following information:

We can't dismiss it out of hand automatically, you say, �Okay, well, can you see Patrick Kane being a good fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs?' Well, if William Nylander excels at center and becomes a fixture there, you could definitely envision an upgrade on that right side.

If the Maple Leafs were able to land Kane it could create the following lineup.

Potential Lines

Bertuzzi-Matthews-Marner
Knies-Tavares-Kane
Domi-Nylander-Robertson
Reaves-Kampf-Lafferty

This would likely leave Calle Jarnkrok and his $2,100,000 salary traded, but could also leave the Leafs with their deepest team in years.

So with Patrick Kane's name still on the free agent market and with William Nylander showing some promise down the middle, this could end up being a very good match.