Analyst: Nylander Olympic Situation Requires Maple Leafs Put Foot Down

Eyebrows were raised when William Nylander was absent from Team Sweden’s practice on Tuesday, which at the time put his status for Wednesday’s opener against Italy in question. He did return to practice with the team on Wednesday morning, though that hasn’t stopped the conversation surrounding his health.

The superstar winger has been in and out of the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup this season due to a lower-body injury, which he had only just returned from 10 days ago after reaggravating it on January 15 in Vegas. Nylander played three tune-up games before heading to Milan for the Olympics, and as you can imagine, another potential injury scare hasn’t gone over well in Toronto.

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TSN analyst Jeff O’Neill went as far as to say the Maple Leafs should shut Nylander down for the tournament altogether in order to prioritize the remainder of their NHL season and a push for the playoffs.

O’Neill said:

“I would tell him to get his *** home, sorry, like it’s over. I know you can’t do that, there’s all different kinds of things—his feelings, what he wants to do—but if there was any question, I would just say: you’re done.”

He added, “If I’m the guy paying his salary, I’d be like, you’re going to tough it out and grind through the Olympics, make it worse, and then somehow come back, and he can’t go or something? I don’t know.”

The 29-year-old Nylander leads Toronto in scoring despite having played just 40 games, racking up 52 points (18 goals, 34 assists) in that span. He’s in year two of the eight-year, $92 million extension signed with the Maple Leafs in 2024.

Team Sweden Needs William Nylander

While O’Neill’s sentiment is very understandable—Nylander is paid $11.5 million per year to play and produce for the Maple Leafs—his importance to Team Sweden is what truly complicates the situation.

Nylander is the Swedes’ best and most dynamic forward, and without him, they are far less of a threat to do any real damage in this tournament. TSN analyst Bryan Hayes echoed that in response to O’Neill’s comments: “He’s the best forward on that Swedish team; everything is going to run through him. They’re in big trouble without him. Like, Willy’s the man. Willy’s got to play. So I would guess there’s a lot of pressure from within the Swedish delegation to get him playing and get him going.”

There’s no doubt this is quite the dilemma for everyone involved, and Nylander—who has never represented his country at the Winter Olympics—is surely chomping at the bit to finally do so, squarely in the prime of his career.

That said, his NHL team should always be the priority above all else. If he gets hurt playing at the Olympics, or battles through the ailment only to return to Toronto either unable to play or far less than 100 percent healthy, things could get uncomfortable in the market rather quickly—even if his intentions were good.

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