Sheldon Keefe benches William Nylander during the 3rd period in Montreal on Saturday

Maple Leafs bench boss Sheldon Keefe had been somewhat vocal following the Patrik Laine benching fiasco in Columbus a couple of weeks ago, suggesting that benching a star player can do just as much - if not more harm than good. That's why it was extremely odd when Keefe took the Tortorella approach with William Nylander and his lackadaisical play on Saturday and cemented Nylander's rear to the bench for the final 8 minutes and 45 seconds of the contest.

Much has been made of Nylander's defensive inefficiencies over the course of his young career, and his tenacity and relentlessness doesn't leave you with much to write home about either. That's why when Keefe saw some sluggish and lazy play from the 24-year-old in the second of back-to-back games against the Sens and the Habs, he felt it was the appropriate time to send a message.

"Both tonight & last game, he's had a lot of really good stretches where he had good legs & he looks real dangerous, like he's ready to break out.. in the third period, we got it going the way we wanted to & I don't think Willy matched that," Keefe said, following the team's 5-3 victory in Montreal.

With the Leafs having already blown a 5-1 lead to the league's worst team this season, the idea of beginning to hold players accountable for a lower-level of effort in games is an extremely important step in creating a winning culture in Toronto.

While Nylander offers a lot, in terms of offensive output, though he has shown some small improvements in his play without the puck, he still leaves a lot to be desired on most occasions. Playing a 200-foot team game is what leads to winning championships, and in order for the Leafs to get there, they will need total buy-in. The Nylander benching not only sends that message to the young winger, but also to the rest of the team that taking shifts off and not managing the puck properly won't be tolerated.

The Leafs play host to the Calgary Flames on Monday, and it will be interesting to see how Nylander responds against his hometown team, after playing just 13:55 on Saturday, the lowest amount of ice-time he has seen since April of 2019.

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