Elliotte Friedman Makes Stunning Suggestion Involving Auston Matthews & William Nylander
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and forward William Nylander have been separated for years, but Elliotte Friedman isn't so sure that's right.
Auston Matthews and William Nylander are arguably the two best players on the Toronto Maple Leafs, although for now, they remain on two different lines.
In the past, this made a lot of sense as Matthews was playing with Mitch Marner, whom he had a ton of natural chemistry with.
Meanwhile, Nylander has played with Tavares, and the two continue to light the lamp together at an impressive rate. However, in the midst of a rough start to the season, some believe a change should be made.
Should Auston Matthews and William Nylander play together
On Thursday night, Matthews and Nylander combined for a beautiful overtime winner against the New York Rangers, and it caught the attention of Elliotte Friedman.
During an appearance on Sportsnet 590, Friedman made the case that the Maple Leafs should start playing Nylander and Matthews together.
To me, it's obvious that they're still trying to find the identity, and when I watched that overtime winner [Thursday night], I know it's not the same, but don't you guys think it's inevitable that Matthews and Nylander start playing together more?
This would be a hard choice to make for head coach Craig Berube, but if the Leafs find themselves struggling to score, perhaps this could actually be the answer.
Matthews and Nylander are incredibly talented, and they work well together on the power play and at three-on-three. At some point, they need to make it work at even strength.
With the Leafs playing the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night, it will be very interesting to see if the head coach makes a big change and follows Friedman's guidance.
If not, it isn't such a bad thing. After all, Matthews and Nylander have been split up for years. What's a few more games?
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