William Nylander says a decade of trade talk doesn't bother him, even with the Maple Leafs sliding to five straight losses.
The timing is awkward. Toronto fell 5-2 to the Wild last night, and Nylander finished without a point, a -1 rating and one shot on goal in 21:55 of ice time.
Matthew Boldy scored three times for Minnesota, and Anthony Stolarz allowed four goals on 25 shots. Auston Matthews scored for the Leafs, but it wasn't close to enough.
The standings are getting uncomfortable. At 8-11-2, Toronto sits 23rd in the NHL and seventh in the Atlantic Division, with just three wins in its last 10. We looked at Nylander's defiant message to Leafs fans when the slide was at four games, and it has only grown since.
A Leafs news account passed along Nylander's answer on the criticism and whether it's getting to him. His reply: "I mean, I've been here for 10 years. People have been saying I'm going to get traded for the majority of that time, so it is what it is."
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Does a slump make Nylander a trade candidate?
Not on these numbers. He has 11 goals and 11 assists in 21 games, including four power-play goals and four power-play assists. That is not a player who has stopped producing.
The -8 is the number that draws the eye, and it says more about a team with 75 goals against than about one winger. Toronto's goal differential is -6, and the defensive side of the game is where the losses are piling up.
Still, the noise is real. A William Nylander for Zachary Werenski swap is being floated as the losing streak drags on. Moving a 30-year-old with 713 career points in 771 games because of a bad month would be a poor way to fix a team that has a goaltending and defensive problem.
Nylander's calm is fair, but calm doesn't win games. Jim Hiller's group gets a chance to snap the skid Saturday against the Oilers, with general manager John Chayka watching how the room responds.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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