Monster trade scenario has Maple Leafs getting rid of William Nylander!

The Toronto Maple Leafs’ offseason drama never disappoints, and this year is not expected to be any different. Former NHL goaltender and current analyst Darren Pang knows something big has to change in Toronto and believes the Maple Leafs and general manager Brad Treliving should risk it all with a monster trade involving William Nylander.
Pang didn’t mince words in his recent take on TSN’s OverDrive:

“For me, the way Chief [Berube] coaches. The big move is Willy Nylander. I know I said he needs to have a big game last time we talked, but there’s a style of play that isn’t working.

“Marner gets a lot of heat, but he plays a much better two-way game. Nylander gets a lot of credit; he’s a great skater, gets open, gets opportunities.

“Wanna blow things up? Move one player out to get two players back. Other managers have done that, lacking some depth; you might not have John Tavares and won’t have Mitch Marner.”

The proposed trade has caught many fans off guard: after all, Pang is talking about a high-scoring, electrifying winger who just posted a career-best season.

But Pang argues that Nylander’s style doesn’t mesh with Berube’s gritty, hard-nosed system, and that while Marner has been given more heat, he’s the one bringing a more complete two-way game.

It’s a gutsy suggestion, especially considering that Nylander just signed an eight-year extension in Toronto. It did not stop Pang from suggesting that Treliving used this window to do what Doug Armstrong did in St. Louis: take a risk, sacrifice some flash, and build a more well-rounded team.

“You gotta make the moves that Doug Armstrong made a few years ago. He got Ryan O’Reilly at 27 years old; he gave up Tage Thompson who ended up being a really good player, but he was a late draft pick.

“He gave up a little bit and a first rounder and got Brayden Schenn at 26. Maybe this is the time for Brad Treliving to knock on a few doors and get one player for two or three.

“Make a wholesale change, that shows it’s his hockey club and not anybody else’s. This is the time to make those moves.”

Is this a bold move or a huge mistake? How beneficial for Toronto would it be to trade Nylander for a couple of depth players who better suit Berube’s vision? Some fans think it’s madness.

But, don’t they want a significant change made to ensure the Maple Leafs can make it past the second round of the postseason next year? It could be that the Leafs are stuck in the same cycle of postseason disappointment because they’ve refused to shake up the core.

It could be time for Toronto and GM Treliving, and add in there coach Berube, to make a deal that’s less about names and more about fit. It won’t be easy. It might not even be popular. But if Toronto wants different results, it might finally be time to do something different.

Therefore I ask again, bold move or huge mistake?