Bad News for William Nylander at Maple Leafs Latest Practice
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a huge weekend upcoming, and with the absence of Mitch Marner due to injury, Sheldon Keefe has made a shocking call with the lineup in their latest practice.
William Nylander demoted from the first line in place of Mitch Marner
While many expected William Nylander to simply slide into the role of Mitch Marner on the top line in the absence of their star winger, that wasn't the case at Toronto's latest practice on Wednesday.
According to reports, after frustration with their performance and lack of chemistry, Sheldon Keefe has demoted Nylander back to the second-line alongside John Tavares and Max Domi, opting for veteran Calle Jarnkrok to play on the top line.
Bertuzzi-Matthews-Jarnkrok
Domi-Tavares-Nylander
Knies-Kampf-McMann
Holmberg-Dewar-Reaves
Extra: Gregor, Robertson
Absent: Marner (lower-body)
Brodie-McCabe
Rielly-Lyubushkin
Edmondson-Liljegren
Benoit,Giordano,(LTIR)-Timmins
Samsonov, Woll, Jones
The Maple Leafs will battle the Philadelphia Flyers on the road tomorrow before a showdown with the Carolina Hurricanes on St. Patrick's Day, and with Marner's return up in the air, the latest lineup decision is certainly an intriguing one.
It's not a bad idea to keep Nylander with the players he's built chemistry with, but with Auston Matthews tallying just one goal in his past five games, it could have been a major opportunity to get him going alongside Nylander, so we will now have to wait and see how it plays out.
As Read on Maple Leafs Daily - Major development coming out of Leafs practice on Wednesday involving William Nylander
| POLL | ||
MARS 13 | 822 ANSWERS Bad News for William Nylander at Maple Leafs Latest Practice Is this the right call from Sheldon Keefe? | ||
| Yes | 470 | 57.2 % |
| No | 352 | 42.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531249.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531292.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
