William Nylander Absent From Maple Leafs’ Skate

On Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Montreal Canadiens in their third preseason game. While those playing took to the ice in the evening, the non-playing squad held practice in the afternoon and their was another noticeable absence from the team’s gathering – William Nylander.

Nylander joins a list of Maple Leafs’ who’ve already missed some time during training camp that includes Nicolas Roy, Max Domi and Simon Benoit. While there wasn’t a specific update to why Nylander was absent, head coach Craig Berube did weather the storm – noting that it was simply a maintenance-type of day off for the star forward.

“Just maintenance,” Berube said. “Camp kind of stuff. Get a little banged up, but he’s fine.”

Thus far, Nylander has been practicing and playing on a line with his usual centre in John Tavares. His other linemate still might be up in the air as of now, but Bobby McMann is making a case to play alongside the two on the Maple Leafs’ second line this season.

As for Nylander, don’t expect him to miss much time. The forward has played 80-plus games in each of the last four seasons, with three straight 40-goal seasons. He will be a major piece for the Maple Leafs this season with the loss of Mitch Marner.

There is no timeline for Nylander’s return, albeit he seems to be day-to-day. As for the other injured Maple Leafs players, both Domi and Roy are back skating with Benoit remaining as the only player who still hasn’t skated with the team.

That said, his return to the lineup seems likely prior to puck drop for the regular season, when the Maple Leafs kick the year off on Oct. 8 against the Canadiens.