William Nylander on verge of setting career high in points for Leafs

While Auston Matthews’ goal-scoring tear might be the biggest headline-grabber on the  Toronto Maple Leafs these days, he’s still staring up at a teammate in at least a couple of major statistical categories.

William Nylander, who inked the largest contract in Leafs history earlier this year, is currently pacing the team with 84 points via 50 assists and 34 goals this season.

And with 18 games left in Toronto’s regular season, Nylander is just three points off his career-high 87 points, set in the 2022-23 campaign.

Either way, it’s been quite the impressive campaign for the 27-year-old Swede, who is currently on pace to shatter his career mark, as he’s set to finish the year with around 107 points based on his current production rate.

Though he’ll have to wait a few days to add to that total, it’s not too inconceivable Nylander could set his career high by the end of the week.

The Leafs return to action Thursday night on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers, before hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.

Of course, any Leafs fan knows that individual accolades aren’t exactly what the team is striving for. With Nylander set to make the postseason for the eighth time in eight full seasons with the franchise, playoff success will be how this team will ultimately be remembered and judged.

And while he didn’t address Nylander by name, Toronto general manager Brad Treliving put the pressure on Toronto’s longtime core players following last week’s trade deadline.

“Ultimately, our big boys have to lead us. The rest of the group has to be there in lockstep to support them and do their job,” Treliving told the media on Friday. “As I have said since day one, this isn’t about one, two, three, or four guys and putting everything on their shoulders. They have to lead the way. The rest of the group has to give real good support, push, pull, and make sure they support our top people.”

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