NHL analyst claims that Maple Leafs have "new scapegoat" in William Nylander after Mitch Marner's departure

NHL analyst Craig Button claimed that William Nylander has become the new scapegoat for the Toronto Maple Leafs following Mitch Marner’s departure to the Vegas Golden Knights in the offseason.

On TSN’s OverDrive, Button discussed the impact of goaltender Anthony Stolarz publicly criticizing teammates, particularly Nylander, after the Maple Leafs’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken last week.

Stolarz expressed frustration over Nylander’s lack of defensive effort and physicality in overtime, where he was outmuscled, forcing Stolarz to defend himself.

Button noted that Nylander has taken over the scrutiny once directed at Marner (2:10 onwards):

"Well, here's what I would say. It feels like there's a new scapegoat in town. It's moved five notches down from 93 to 88..." Button said. "I'll be very clear here. He made a mistake. We know he made a mistake. He's their leading scorer. It just feels again they got to find a scapegoat."

Button argued that while Nylander needs to improve in certain areas, piling blame on him mirrors the treatment Marner faced before leaving.

"William Nylander knows he needs to be better in certain areas. He could have been better on that play Saturday night. Try to play without William Nylander. They're struggling without Marner. Good luck trying to find a replacement for Nylander, and they're not going to find one for Marner," Button added.

Anthony Stolarz was not the first one to criticize William Nylander. Earlier, head coach Sheldon Keefe also called out the Swedish forward for his lack of effort and urged him to be more aggressive offensively.

Despite the scrutiny, Nylander leads the Maple Leafs with 11 points (two goals and nine assists) in six games.

William Nylander clears the air on potential rift with Anthony Stolarz

Following Anthony Stolarz’s remarks, rumors emerged about a potential rift between him and William Nylander. However, the 28-year-old Swedish forward clarified that everything is on good terms between the two.

"It's all good. Look, we're teammates. He's a great guy. There's nothing that we need to, you know, talk about here," Nylander said (NHL Trade Talk). " Yeah, he talked to me after and it's all good. It's been no issue since.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are third in the Atlantic Division with a 3-2-1 record in six games. They host the New Jersey Devils at Scotiaban Arena on Tuesday, with puck dropping at 7 p.m. ET.