Veteran Leafs Forward Backs a Struggling William Nylander: 'We know what he's capable of'

It's no secret that the Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled offensively coming out of the gates, but the struggles may not have hit anyone harder than star winger William Nylander.

The Swedish winger was expected to take the reins from the departed Mitch Marner, but through the first three games, he's been relatively non-existent with just one empty net goal and a measly 3 shots. Naturally, this has drawn the ire of his head coach, Craig Berube.

Nylander is a consummate professional who has been at or near the top of the Leafs' roster when it comes to goals and points for years on end. While he's flown under the radar to start out the season, former captain John Tavares isn't worried about the early season struggles.

Having played with him over the course of 7+ seasons, Tavares isn't the least bit worried and knows that Nylander is his own harshest critic and will do whatever he needs to do to get back on track.

Nylander's first attempt will come tonight when the Leafs host the Nashville Predators, a team in which he's totalled 12 points and 44 shots across 15 career games.

Berube's words will also be ringing in his ear after the fiery bench boss was left somewhat stumped with Nylander's lack of shots and aggression in the offensive zone.

However, as we've seen over the years, Nylander has bounced back time and time again. It's only a matter of time before the former first rounder gets back to his game, which, incidentally, is scoring 40+ goals and firing close to 300 shots per season.