Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube makes his feelings about William Nylander’s ice time crystal clear

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Oct 31, 2024 17:08 GMT

William Nylander has not been on the ice as much this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Aside from an earlier sickness, he has been healthy but not getting the same ice time that he normally does. The Maple Leafs' hot start has cooled, but Nylander hasn't been as involved.

This seems to be for a purpose. New head coach Craig Berube was candid when asked about how much time his star player got:

"What I do is I try to get him out there, if deserved, as much as I can."

The comment indicates that Berube doesn't always think Nylander should spend much time on the ice. He had previously said via Sportsnet:

"I don't focus on ice time so much. I get Willy out there quite a bit, a lot. Lot of key situations, obviously. At the same time, I've said this all along, we want to be a good team. Everybody needs to be involved. I try to get Willy out there as much as I can."

In their most recent win over the Winnipeg Jets, Nylander had a goal and two assists in just over 17 minutes of ice time.

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William Nylander wants more ice time

William Nylander knows he's not playing as much this season. The Toronto Maple Leafs star has said he wants his average ice time to reach where it was last season, but Berube has kept him off more.

William Nylander wants to get on the ice more (Imagn)

"That is a little bit what I've been trying to talk to (Berube) about. Get that ice time back to where it was before, I think it helps my game a lot, to do what I want to be able to do out there," Nylander said, via Sportsnet.

Nylander has six goals and four assists in 10 games. He is on the ice for an average of 18:01 every game. Last year, he had a career-high ice time of 19:55 average minutes and had a career-high 98 points, thanks to 40 goals and 58 assists in 82 games.