The Toronto Maple Leafs summer was a busy one, and after all their free agent moves, no one quite expected them to move their second line winger William Nylander to the center.
A blossoming partnership
However, it's a move that appears to be paying off, as the Leafs now have some of the best center depth in the league with Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Nylander, and it's led to a fantastic relationship.
Since the beginning of camp, Nylander has partnered with Max Domi on the wing, and unsurprisingly, their chemistry has continued to grow, and now, they've got great things to say about each other.
Both of us like to make plays so that makes a big difference. He's such a good skater and when gets the puck in the middle of the ice, he's pretty lethal. He's a guy that - personally, I always thought he was a shooter - when you play with him you see the plays he can make and he can do both. A lot of respect for what he can do and definitely we're trying to build every single day... It's fun to play with him, fun hockey, and just gotta keep building. - Max Domi
A massive year incoming
The two have shown great flashes in limited opportunities for the Leafs in pre-season, and now, with the expanded depth down the middle, it has the Leafs primed for a deep playoff run, and Nylander is thrilled about this opportunity.
I think we find each other really well and we've been creating some good chances and hopefully we can build off that stuff. I think we're getting better and better every day together.
He's got good speed and nice hands and sees the ice really well. I think we try and find each other in different ways in the zones and on rushes and stuff like that.
Both of these guys have something big to prove to the league, and together, they're preparing to run the Maple Leafs third line, and if everyone can stay healthy, this could be the best team in the entire NHL.