William Nylander Opens Up About Last Year's Regrets and What's Driving Him Now
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs star WIlliam Nylander sat down with Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas and revealed his motivation for this year, and what last year meant to him.
Last season was a disappointing end for the Toronto Maple Leafs after falling to the Florida Panthers in seven games, and kickstarting the swath of changes we saw this past offseason.
One key part of that disappointment was WIlliam Nylander, as while he was fantastic in the regular season and put up 15 points in 13 games; when it mattered he was quiet.
But that only seemed to give him even more motivation heading into the 2025-26 season.
How Nylander's Mindset Has Changed Since That Playoff Loss
Nylander took the time to speak with Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas while in Milan for the NHL European Media Tour, and revealed his mentality after Toronto's failure against Florida:
It was Game 5, and 7 where, yeah. Bad on our part as a team but that was tough thing, knowing we could have been better in those games and it could have been a different outcome in the series.
But when you're playing against an incredible team, they know how to win in those kinds of games so we just have to learn from them, what they're able to do and incorporate it into our game.
But when you're playing against an incredible team, they know how to win in those kinds of games so we just have to learn from them, what they're able to do and incorporate it into our game.
The conversation then shifted to Nylander's goals heading into the season and getting to where he wants to be:
You know, I look at it as it has to happen eventually. Hopefully it happens while I'm in Toronto, and you know still playing but eventually it will happen, that's how I look at it.
Clearly the playoff failures still haunt Nylander, though he's taken his lumps and is going to be all gas and no brakes heading into the season.
He's already started off on the right foot with four points in the first two games (1 goal, 3 assists) and looks as good if not better than last year.
The motivation to win while in Toronto is clearly driving Nylander this season, and as we've seen from the actions of Matthew Knies, John Tavares, and Anthony Stolarz; others want to win here too.
Things will never be perfect and that was evident during Saturday night's game against Detroit.
But once they get healthy and have their full army at the ready, the battle for the Stanley Cup is going to be gritty, dirty, with both mental and physical fortitude the name of the game.
Good thing the Toronto Maple Leafs had the wherewithal to adapt their strategy to do exactly that.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 12|970 ANSWERS William Nylander Opens Up About Last Year's Regrets and What's Driving Him Now Do you think William Nylander will win a Stanley Cup in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 503 | 51.9 % |
| No | 467 | 48.1 % |
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