Could the Maple Leafs Be Considering Another Nylander For the Roster?

One of the most underrated remaining unrestricted free agents still on the market has to be 26-year-old forward Alex Nylander. Yes, the brother of Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander.

Safe to say that Alex will not be signing a deal anywhere close to the one that his older bro signed this past season (8 years x $11.5 million), but he should be getting some consideration around the league after a sneaky-good performance for the Columbus Blue Jackets after arriving in Ohio in a trade mid-season.

He's spending his summer, as he usually does, working out with his more famous sibling, but a recent Instagram post by the Leafs' 40-goal man had some Toronto fans and followers wondering if it wouldn't make a lot of sense to bring in the younger Nylander on a cheap deal in free agency.

📸: William Nylander back in the gym alongside his brother Alex! Via IG: 💪💙#leafsforever pic.twitter.com/WHajTUuOXz
— Leafslatest (@Leafslatest) July 22, 2024

Alex Nylander, the former No. 8 overall pick (2016 NHL Draft), popped 11 goals in just 23 games for the Blue Jackets to finish this past season, but the team, for some reason, chose not to extend a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He earned the minimum $775,000 last season.

The younger Nylander was an AHL All-Star with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the 2022-2023 season, after recording 25 goals and 50 points in 55 games. But he struggled to crack the big club in Pittsburgh, playing only a handful of games that season and again earlier this past year before being dealt to Columbus.

The Leafs are looking for a boost in their bottom-six, and perhaps Nylander, joining his big bro in Toronto, could be the answer.