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William Nylander

#88 · Right wing · Toronto Maple Leafs

Born May 1, 1996 in Calgary, Alberta, CAN (age 30) · 6'0", 200 lb · Shoots right · Drafted 8th overall in 2014 by TOR (round 1)

Compare with a similar player

The forwards closest to him in points in 2015-16. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Dwight King LAK · 13 P in 47 GP Jake Virtanen VAN · 13 P in 55 GP Nick Spaling SJS · 13 P in 58 GP Josh Jooris CGY · 13 P in 59 GP Iiro Pakarinen EDM · 13 P in 63 GP

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

0204060802015-16: 13 points1315-162016-17: 61 points6116-172017-18: 61 points6117-182018-19: 27 points2718-192019-20: 59 points5919-202020-21: 42 points4220-212021-22: 80 points8021-222022-23: 87 points8722-232023-24: 98 points9823-242024-25: 84 points8424-252025-26: 79 points7925-262026-27: 11 points1126-27

Points by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Cap hit
2015-16 TOR 22 6 7 13 1 4 43 5 0.59 $894K
2016-17 TOR 81 22 39 61 -3 32 205 25 0.75 $894K
2017-18 TOR 82 20 41 61 20 10 184 21 0.74 $894K
2018-19 TOR 54 7 20 27 -4 16 130 16 0.50 $10.278M
2019-20 TOR 68 31 28 59 -2 12 197 9 0.87 $6.962M
2020-21 TOR 51 17 25 42 10 16 133 12 0.82 $6.962M
2021-22 TOR 81 34 46 80 -9 16 256 19 0.99 $6.962M
2022-23 TOR 82 40 47 87 10 28 293 18 1.06 $6.962M
2023-24 TOR 82 40 58 98 1 24 316 32 1.20 $6.962M
2024-25 TOR 82 45 39 84 10 26 253 14 1.02 $11.5M
2025-26 TOR 65 30 49 79 -14 16 156 13 1.22 $11.5M
2026-27 TOR 6 5 6 11 -1 0 18 1 1.83 $11.5M
12 seasons Career 756 297 405 702 19 200 2184 185 0.93

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP
2016-17 TOR 6 1 3 4 4 2 23 2 0.67
2017-18 TOR 7 1 3 4 -3 0 11 6 0.57
2018-19 TOR 7 1 2 3 1 2 14 10 0.43
2019-20 TOR 5 2 2 4 -3 0 10 3 0.80
2020-21 TOR 7 5 3 8 3 4 21 5 1.14
2021-22 TOR 7 3 4 7 1 4 23 4 1.00
2022-23 TOR 11 4 6 10 -4 2 47 3 0.91
2023-24 TOR 4 3 0 3 2 4 18 5 0.75
2024-25 TOR 13 6 9 15 -3 4 37 7 1.15
9 seasons Playoffs 67 26 32 58 -2 22 204 45 0.87

2015-16 season totals

GP G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits P/GP Shooting % Avg TOI
22 6 7 13 1 4 43 5 0.59 14.0 16:20

Contract

$894KCap hitends in 2018, then RFA
$69KCap dollars per point13 points in 22 games
$633KCap dollars per goal above replacement1.4 goals above replacement
$1.5MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$562KValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 668 ranked skaters whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs on Aug 18, 2014, as an entry-level contract: 3 years and $5.233M, beginning in 2015-16. It runs through 2017-18, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then a restricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2015-16 $894K $833K $93K $850K $925K
2016-17 $894K $833K $93K $850K $925K
2017-18 $894K $833K $0 $850K $833K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Jan 8, 2024 Toronto Maple Leafs Extension 2024-25 to 2031-32 8 $92M $11.5M
Dec 1, 2018 Toronto Maple Leafs New contract 2018-19 to 2023-24 6 $45M $10.278M
Aug 18, 2014 Toronto Maple Leafs Entry-level 2015-16 to 2017-18 signed for 2014-15, slid 3 $5.233M $894K

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2015-16 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2015-16 analytics

Rating

+1.4Goals above replacement406th of 675 skaters, 278th of 445 forwards
+0.2Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+0.4Goals above averagethe five parts below added up

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 445 ranked forwards: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile.

Even-strength offence+0.5 59th percentileEven-strength defence-0.4 37th percentilePower play-0.5 15th percentilePenalty kill+0.0 50th percentilePenalties+0.9 71st percentile

The goals he added to his team's goal difference, compared with a spare-part player given the same ice time. Each part is measured against the league, so zero is an average skater, and the rank beside it is among forwards. A full season is about two-thirds the player and one-third chance. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

051015202015-162017-182019-202021-222023-242025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

On the ice

What happened at five-on-five while he was on the ice. What these numbers mean

53.9Corsi for %283 attempts for, 242 against
+3.8CF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
45.5Expected goals for %9.8 expected for, 11.7 against
-2.1xGF% relative to teamagainst the team without him
50.9Fenwick for %unblocked attempts
52.9Goals for %9 for, 8 against
101.1PDO6.8% shooting + 94.3% saves
55Attempts takenhis own shot attempts

These are left plain: he has not been on the ice enough to be ranked. That takes at least 200 shot attempts with him out there, about six or seven games, and a quarter of what the busiest skater has. Over a game or two these numbers are mostly chance.

Who he played with

Forward lineGPTimeCF%xGF%Goals
PA Parenteau · Zach Hyman · William Nylander11113:1059.963.53-3
Zach Hyman · William Nylander · Kasperi Kapanen429:5346.228.00-0
PA Parenteau · Colin Greening · William Nylander528:4160.942.61-1
Colin Greening · Tobias Lindberg · William Nylander221:5936.818.72-1

The lines he spent the most time in at five-on-five, with the team's share of the shot attempts and expected goals, and the goals for and against, while they were out. The two shares are coloured as above, against the league's lines that played a fair amount together. Hover over one for its percentile.

Chances and finishing

Expected goals adds up how likely each of his shots was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. All situations, leaving out shots at an empty net. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

6Goalsnot counting empty-netters
4.3Expected goalsfrom 71 unblocked attempts
+1.7Goals above expectedgoals minus expected goals
Chances created 0.71 expected goals per 60 minutes55th
Shot quality 6.0% chance per attempt13th
Finishing +1.7 goals above expected75thOne season of finishing is mostly luck.

Each bar shows the share of forwards he is ahead of, among the 412 who played 300 minutes or more this season.

0246Game 20Goals 6Expected 4.3

His goals and his expected goals as the season went on. When the goals line pulls away above, he is scoring more than his chances were worth; below, less.

Where he shot from

Every attempt he took this season, in all situations, attacking the net on the right. There is a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. "Show as heat map" shades the ice by where the attempts came from. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result G A P +/- PIM Shots Hits TOI
Apr 9, 2016 @ NJD L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 2 1 1 15:04
Apr 7, 2016 @ PHI W 4-3 (OT) 1 2 3 2 0 4 0 18:06
Apr 6, 2016 vs CBJ L 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 17:18
Apr 4, 2016 vs FLA L 3-4 0 1 1 -1 0 1 0 15:53
Apr 2, 2016 vs DET L 2-3 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 15:48
Mar 31, 2016 @ BUF L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15:48
Mar 29, 2016 @ FLA W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 16:56
Mar 28, 2016 @ TBL L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17:15
Mar 26, 2016 vs BOS L 1-3 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 17:32
Mar 24, 2016 vs ANA W 6-5 (OT) 0 0 0 -2 0 1 0 16:24
Mar 21, 2016 vs CGY W 5-2 1 2 3 3 0 4 0 18:12
Mar 19, 2016 vs BUF W 4-1 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 15:27
Mar 17, 2016 vs FLA L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 5 0 16:08
Mar 15, 2016 vs TBL W 4-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 14:55
Mar 13, 2016 @ DET W 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13:06
Mar 12, 2016 @ OTT L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 3 0 17:00
Mar 9, 2016 vs NYI W 4-3 (SO) 1 0 1 0 0 3 1 15:59
Mar 7, 2016 vs BUF L 3-4 (SO) 0 0 0 -1 0 1 0 16:21
Mar 5, 2016 vs OTT L 2-3 1 0 1 1 0 4 0 15:43
Mar 3, 2016 vs MIN L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 15:38
Mar 2, 2016 @ WSH L 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 16:12
Feb 29, 2016 vs TBL L 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 18:41