Maple Leafs’ William Nylander leaves preseason game after hit

On Thursday night, Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander left the team’s preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens after taking an awkward hit. In the first period, teammate Nick Robertson attempted to give Nylander a push while going in on the forecheck near the neutral zone.

However, the move backfired. Nylander stumbled to the ice and collided with Canadiens forward Christian Dvorak. Dvorak’s leg hit Nylander’s head, causing Nylander to spin on the ice in distress. He ended up leaving the game and didn’t return for the second period.

The Maple Leafs later announced that Nylander would not be appearing in the rest of the game as a precaution, but the team didn’t reveal the cause.

Nylander played 4:08 in the game, was a plus/minus of -1 and registered one shot on goal. It is too early to determine the severity of the Swedish winger’s injury. He is expected to be reevaluated in the coming days.

It was Nylander’s second preseason appearance. He scored a goal and an assist in the Leafs’ 6-5 loss to the Ottawa Senators last Sunday.

Nylander is coming into the 2024-25 season with high expectations after a career year. In 2023-24, the 28-year-old scored 40 goals for the second time in his tenure in the NHL, setting career highs in assists (58) and points (98). His performance was exceptional enough to earn him a big contract, as Nylander signed an eight-year deal with an AAV of $11.5 million in January of last season. He was also voted into his first All-Star Game appearance as well.

His numbers have progressively improved over the last few seasons, having scored 80 points in the 2021-22 campaign before notching 87 the following year.

In 603 career NHL appearances, all with the Leafs, Nylander has scored 217 goals and 311 assists for 528 points. He has been one of Toronto’s most consistent performers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In 54 games, he has registered 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points.