NHLPA helped pull a damaging William Nylander scene from Amazon docuseries, per Insider
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast, the NHLPA helped remove a damaging scene of William Nylander from an Amazon docuseries.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are no stranger to being in the spotlight, and with the NHL's partnership with Amazon, that's provided a new insight into the team's day to day operations.
A focus of the 'Face-Off' series as well as the 'All or Nothing' series, the Maple Leafs have been the subject of Amazon's behind the scenes docuseries' twice now, and while it's a very unique look at how an NHL team operates, it also highlights moments of tension that naturally happen inside NHL rooms.
Locker room tension, frustrations, and colorful language are all par for the course when it comes to the Amazon series', and according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman -- Toronto was nearly showcasing it to the world.
What Elliotte Friedman actually revealed about the deleted Nylander scene
On the Nov. 29 episode of 32 Thoughts, Friedman was discussing the relationship between head coach Craig Berube and William Nylander and mentioned that this wasn't the first time Nylander had a brush with a coach.
Per Friedman's report, Nylander and former head coach Sheldon Keefe were involved in a heated argument which was supposed to be shown during the 'All or Nothing' docuseries, however the Maple Leafs, Nylander's agent, and the NHLPA requested it be removed:
The organization has protected him a lot. He was Shanahan's guy. They paid him very well, but in the first Amazon series, there was a scene in there that the Leafs, the NHPA and his agent fought to get taken out.
It wasn't supposed to happen, but the Leafs, Player's Association and Nylander's agent -- it was an argument between Keefe and Nylander -- and they thought it painted him in a bad light.
Initially Amazon fought it but they put up such a stink eventually they won their way.
It wasn't supposed to happen, but the Leafs, Player's Association and Nylander's agent -- it was an argument between Keefe and Nylander -- and they thought it painted him in a bad light.
Initially Amazon fought it but they put up such a stink eventually they won their way.
The argument was never included in the released series, and we have never seen any known footage of the incident.
It's a very interesting wrench thrown into the entire Nylander saga, and it shows that the forward -- who is relatively relaxed and laissez-faire -- can actually show some serious fire.
What this says about star treatment, image control, and how much fans really see
We already know how protective Toronto can be of their injured players, often failing to give fans or the media any real knowledge which can leave some feeling a bit frustrated.
But with this latest development it also raises questions about how much behind-the-scenes footage teams prefer to keep private. Toronto is the NHL's most valuable franchise according to Forbes, and they have had several of the League's top stars playing for them.
With that needs to come a squeaky clean image, and if there are issues in the background, the team would much rather try and resolve it quickly and quietly, andthe team typically prefers to manage internal issues privately.
Amazon's docuseries' are meant to give fans a look into what they aren't supposed to see, and while it may give some players a bit of a negative shine at times, many fans appreciate transparency in behind-the-scenes content.
In this modern age, word spreads like wildfire and if you say or do something that paints you in a less than positive light, that reputation can stay with you for a long time.
So while fans would appreciate the inside look at the Maple Leafs, it was in the team's best interest to protect one of their top stars, and it shows the organization is conscious of how star players are portrayed.
This remains one of several behind-the-scenes stories that highlight how much footage never reaches the public.
This account is also based on Friedman's reporting; Amazon and the Maple Leafs have not publicly commented on the removed footage.
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