William Nylander Injury Update: His Surprising Return and Unexpected Lineup Change

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Chris Gerics
September 30, 2024 (10:48)

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William Nylander returned to the Maple Leafs after an injury during a preseason game vs. Montreal, and according to practice lines he's no longer lining up at center.

With the regular season is only 10 days away, teams are figuring out their final lines and roster before heading into their journey towards the Stanley Cup. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a lot of pressure to succeed and with the pieces they added this offseason it could be their year. One of those players under pressure is William Nylander, who this offseason was tasked with a new role at center, and while it looked decent to start, an injury caused by teammate Nick Robertson put Nylander out for a few days.

So it was a great sign for the Maple Leafs and fans as Nylander made his way back into practice on Monday, however it looks like the center experiment may be over temporarily; as he was seen shifted back to the wing with Max Domi in the middle:

Whether or not this means Nylander is no longer playing center or if it's just a way for him to get back up to speed before moving back isn't for certain, however just having him back is a huge positive. The Maple Leafs are still without John Tavares so it may be a temporary thing while he recovers and they don't wanna force Nylander into anything too high-energy yet but we'll have to wait and see.

Pontus Holmberg takes Tavares' spot down the middle for practice and he could see time as the 4th line center especially if the Maple Leafs want to exorcise some cap space and end up trading either Calle Jarnkrok (currently nursing an injury) or David Kampf. Rookies Easton Cowan and Nikita Grebenkin find themselves as the extra forwards in practice, and it will be curious to see if Cowan gets yet another crack at a preseason game, as clearly head coach Craig Berube wants to see everything he can from the Maple Leafs 2023 1st Round pick and if Cowan can play like he did against Montreal he might earn the last spot.

Everything else seems up to snuff for the Maple Leafs, as their defense and goaltending is pretty standard as to what you'd see in the regular season. The only difference is Conor Timmins lining up with Simon Benoit as opposed to Timothy Liljegren, who was put as the depth 4th defensive pairing with Marshall Rifai. Not to mention the Maple Leafs are hoping to have Jani Hakanpaa back and skating with the main group this week; adding a bit more intrigue once he's finally healthy.

With Toronto opening the regular season on October 9th versus the Montreal Canadiens; a game which will have a ton of ways Montreal may want to get back at Toronto and filled with animosity, the best course of action for Toronto is to put their best lineup forward and make sure they have the right people for the right jobs, lest Arber Xhekaj be cut loose.