Insider Reveals Untold Argument Between William Nylander and Former Coach

William Nylander is one of, if not the most polarizing player in the NHL. His dynamic skill set allows him to produce massive numbers and make it look relatively easy in the process. On the flip side, his nonchalant effort can often be frustrating, particularly for his coaches, given how bad it looks when it comes back to bite him.

It’s quite similar to that of former Maple Leaf Phil Kessel, who was never going to change his ways, and you just had to live with the good and the bad. Nylander is very much that way, and on Friday, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman revealed an interesting story about a testy argument he had with former head coach Sheldon Keefe during the time that Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ documentary was being filmed.

Friedman said:

“In the first Amazon they did, the series, the All or Nothing. There was a scene in their that the Leafs, and the NHLPA, and his agent all fought to have taken out. And that wasn’t supposed to happen, it wasn’t supposed to happen, everybody was supposed to be like it’s there, you have to say yes. But the Leafs, the Players Association, and the Agent, it was an argument between Keefe and Nylander, and those three felt strongly it made Nylander look bad. And initially, Amazon fought it; they’re like Nope. But they put up such a stink that eventually they won their way,”

The 29-year-old Nylander is off to the best start of his career in 2025-26, having already racked up 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) in just 20 games.

William Nylander is No Stranger to Exchanges with a Coach

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that Nylander and Keefe had their runs during their time together in Toronto.

In fact, we just saw it firsthand as Nylander and current head coach Craig Berube got into it during the third period of Wednesday night’s game in Columbus after the star winger didn’t give much of an effort during a late-game power play.

Of course, Nylander came back the next shift, set up Easton Cowan’s game-tying goal, and then won it himself in overtime with a smooth cross-body wrister that fooled Jet Greaves. It was an absolute classic Nylander performance where he looked lackadaisical all night, and all of a sudden flipped a switch and led his team to victory.

He can be a coach’s nightmare at times, but his talent often outweighs it, and that’s why he’s one of the best wingers in the game.

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