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Unsurprisingly at this point, the Toronto Maple Leafs played another Stanley Cup Playoffs game on Wednesday, April 24… and William Nylander was ruled out of it ahead of puck drop.
The Leafs forward missed a third consecutive game on Wednesday, thus making it three-for-three in postseason absences after he appeared for the last time in the regular-season finale played by Toronto on April 17.
Nobody knows what is happening with Nylander nor which type of injury he is nursing–if any. The Leafs have listed Nylander out of the first three games of their first-round series against the Boston Bruins with an “undisclosed” injury, including ahead of Game 3 on April 24, per NHL.com.
Is William Nylander Active & Practicing?
Nylander’s “undisclosed” injury and availability (or the lack of it) is surprising because the Leafs forward didn’t miss a single game throughout the regular season, including playing the finale among all 82 outings he was part of. He scored 40 goals and assisted 58 for a total of 98 points this year.
Once the postseason got rolling, however, Nylander hit the injury report and missed Game 1 and Game 2 in Boston followed by another absence in the Leafs’ first game home on April 24 when they hosted the Bruins in Game 3. Toronto trails Boston 2-1 following Wednesday’s outcome.
Nylander took part in Toronto’s morning skate on Sunday, April 21, ahead of Game 2.
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported on April 24 that Nylander was, in fact, part of the team’s practice hours before puck drop for Game 3 later on Wednesday. He captured the Leafs winger on the ice.
Kristen Shilton of ESPN shared a similar report. She confirmed on Wednesday, ahead of Game 3, that Nylander was in fact on the rink practicing on Wednesday morning. She also added that he performed extra drills after the main session was over.
“Nylander had been on the ice at least twice before Wednesday’s workout but stayed mostly on the perimeter doing his own work,” Shilton wrote. “Once the main portion of Wednesday’s session concluded, Nylander performed extra drills with the Leafs’ projected scratches.”
Nylander’s Absence Is Fostering Rumors & Speculation
With Nylander out of action for the first three games of the playoffs, Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe has used rookie Nicholas Robertson as his replacement and in Toronto’s third forward line, per Daily Faceoff.
The absence of Nylander, however, is a bit of a distraction if only because of all of the content and questions related to it that are asked to the Leafs staff daily.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman recorded an episode of his “32 Thoughts” podcast before Game 3 saying there was a “decent shot” Nylander could play. Didn’t happen.
That, however, was not the main point of the discussion. It was, rather, the secrecy about Nylander’s injury and how Toronto is managing the situation.
With little clarity about what’s affecting Nylander’s availability and his injury termed “undisclosed,” speculation has started to grow a bit too big of late.
Friedman said that he understands Toronto’s handling of the situation as they don’t want to reveal their cards. Friedman also said that he doesn’t believe the rumor about the Leafs having suspended Nylander for disciplinary reasons.
“This Nylander thing is weird,” Friedman said on the April 22 episode of his podcast. “I have theories, but I just don’t believe at this time of the year you should guess on injuries unless you absolutely know one-billion-percent know what they are.”
Friedman also said that Nylander didn’t show any signs of having suffered an injury through the end of the regular season while the Leafs never released any official update on his status.
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