Jim Hiller Calls Out William Nylander for Unacceptable Play

Jim Hiller Wants To See The William Nylander He Remembers From First Run With Maple Leafs.

William Nylander is still scoring.

He has 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 17 games this season.

That puts him second on the Toronto Maple Leafs in scoring and 10th in the entire NHL.

But points are not the full story.

Nylander himself noticed something is different.

“I feel like it’s been a weird season in that way,” Nylander said after practice Wednesday.

“I feel like I haven’t had puck nearly as much as I usually have in, you know, neutral zone, O-zone.”

Head coach Jim Hiller agrees.

“I would agree with him,” Hiller said.

“That’s been a constant conversation with Willy and I.”

Hiller then described the Nylander he remembers from earlier in his Maple Leafs tenure.

“Certainly, the point production is there,” Hiller said.

“But 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.”

That version of Nylander has been missing.

“He just hasn’t had a lot of those looks,” Hiller added.

The advanced numbers back up the eye test.

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.

His Corsi share — a common measure of puck possession — is 43.61 percent.

That again places him third from the bottom among regular forwards, ahead of only McKenna and Paul.

Last season, Nylander posted a 47.88 percent Corsi share.

That was the second-best number on the team behind John Tavares.

The drop is significant.

Hiller has a clear idea of what Nylander needs to change.

“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.”

That is a big ask.

Nylander has built his game on rushing up ice, getting breakaways, and receiving thread-the-needle passes.

He has never been known as a player who digs deep in his own zone to start the breakout.

But Hiller wants him to adapt.

The coach is asking Nylander to play more responsible, team-driven hockey.

That is not Nylander’s calling card through 767 career NHL games.

Nylander himself is searching for answers.

“I don’t know exactly what that is coming down to,” he said.

“But I mean, that’s something trying to get sorted.”

The timing adds pressure.

The Maple Leafs have been piling up losses.

Fans and analysts are looking for someone to blame.

Nylander’s name has come up often despite his point totals.

The points are still there — five in his last five games — but the overall impact has been lacking.

In Tuesday’s game, Nylander played on a line with Nick Paul and Dakota Joshua.

That is not the same as playing with John Tavares.

Paul is a solid second-line center filling in for the injured Tavares.

Joshua is not an offensive player who will create extra touches for Nylander.

When Tavares returns, Nylander will likely move back to his usual line.

But Hiller cannot wait for that.

He has to figure out line combinations with limited resources right now.

The pressure is mounting on the entire team.

The Leafs are expected to contend for the Stanley Cup.

Star players are expected to perform consistently.

Depth players cannot always be relied on to come up big in key moments.

Hiller’s public comments are notable.

He did not sugarcoat his assessment.

He directly said Nylander needs to change how he plays without the puck.

The message is clear: production alone is not enough.