Hiller fires back after Nylander’s puck complaint.

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller took direct aim at forward William Nylander after the star winger publicly complained about not touching the puck enough this season.

Nylander, who has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points through the team's first 17 games, told reporters after a recent practice that he feels the puck hasn't been on his stick as much as usual.

"I feel like it's been a weird season in that way," Nylander said.

"I haven't had the puck nearly as much as I usually do in the neutral zone or offensive zone."

Nylander added that he doesn't know exactly what is causing the issue but said it's something he is trying to get sorted out.

Hiller did not dismiss the complaint.

Instead, he agreed with Nylander's self-assessment — then pointed the finger right back at the player.

"I would agree with him," Hiller told the media.

"That's been a constant conversation with Willy and I."

Hiller acknowledged that Nylander's point production is still there, but he said the version of Nylander he remembers from earlier in his career was different.

"I'm used to seeing him back in the day where he would carry the puck through the neutral zone, and he would take people wide and turn up and find a secondary option," Hiller said.

"He just hasn't had a lot of those looks."

The coach then offered a pointed solution.

"We've talked a lot about him maybe coming back for the puck a little bit more," Hiller said.

"Maybe spending less time in the neutral zone waiting for the puck, and more time in our own zone trying to be the breakout outlet who can carry it."

The numbers back up Nylander's feeling — and Hiller's critique.

Among Maple Leafs forwards who have played more than 10 games this season at 5-on-5, Nylander has the third-lowest shot attempts percentage at 43.7 percent.

Only Gavin McKenna and Nick Paul are lower than Nylander in that category.

In terms of Corsi share — a metric that measures puck possession through shot attempts — Nylander stands in the same position, with only McKenna and Paul having a lower percentage than his 43.61 percent.

Last season, Nylander posted a 47.88 percent Corsi share, the second-best number on the team behind John Tavares.

The drop-off is significant.

Nylander is currently 10th in NHL scoring and second on the Maple Leafs in points, but the underlying numbers suggest he is not driving play the way he once did.

Part of the issue may be his linemates.

With John Tavares out of the lineup, Nylander has been playing on a line with Nick Paul and Dakota Joshua.

Paul is a solid second-line center, but he is not Tavares.

Joshua is not known as an offensive driver.

Nylander typically plays with Tavares and Gavin McKenna when the lineup is fully healthy.

Until Tavares returns, Hiller has to figure out how to put the right line combinations together with limited resources.

But Hiller made clear that Nylander also has to change his own habits.

These days, Nylander tends to hang around the opposition blueline during breakouts instead of dropping back to help carry the puck through the neutral zone.

He has been known in recent years to be sprung for breakaways and to pick up thread-the-needle passes, but those moments have become less frequent.

Hiller wants to see Nylander take more responsibility in the defensive zone and generate his own touches rather than waiting for the puck to come to him.

The exchange between player and coach is not unusual in professional hockey, but the public nature of it adds pressure.

Nylander is in the second year of an eight-year, $92 million contract with the Maple Leafs.