William Nylander News
Nylander missed Sunday's practice with an illness and will be a game-time decision in Tampa. Nick Abruzzese will likely be a healthy scratch if Nylander plays but could remain in the lineup if he is out.
Nylander was trending towards being a healthy scratch on Tuesday because he was late to a meeting on Monday, but Sheldon Keefe will keep him in the lineup. It could be more out of necessity with Zach Hyman and Ilya Mikheyev out with injuries.
Nylander has missed the last two games with an illness but was back at practice on Monday and is expected to play tonight vs. the Coyotes. Before getting sick, Nylander had 26 points (14G / 12A) in his last 20 games.
Nylander was a surprise scratch last night and did not travel to Montreal for Saturday's game. With Nylander out on Friday, Andreas Johnsson moved up to the first line and Zach Hyman saw time on the top power-play unit.
With only a couple of minutes to spare, Nylander inked the much anticipated extension and could be back in the Maple Leafs lineup as soon as next week. Nylander adds to an already deep Maple Leafs top-9, where he figures to slot in next to Auston Matthews. A season ago, Nylander had 20 goals and 41 assists in 82 games.
Nylander missed today’s practice, but the Maple Leafs are off until Thursday, so expect him to be fine and ready to go against New Jersey.
Nylander, 19, has skated in 37 regular season games with the Marlies this season and ranks tied for ninth in league scoring with 45 points (18G / 27A). The 19-year-old was one of three Marlies players selected to skate in the 2016 AHL All-Star Game. Nylander was drafted by Toronto in the 1st round (8th overall) during the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Nylander will head back to Sweden and play for Modo for a second season. The 2014 eighth overall pick had a strong camp with the Maple Leafs, but will have to wait a year for another shot at making the NHL roster. The Leafs had a lot of competition at forward, so letting the 18-year-old grow for another season was probably the best decision for his future.