William Nylander avoids a scary injury during practice

The Toronto Maple Leafs avoided catastrophe on Tuesday as William Nylander was hit up high on a shot, and though he had a stinger he looks to be alright.

As we get closer and closer to the regular season, the Maple Leafs are feeling the pressure from fans to have a much better result than last year. A big part of that is going to be bringing the offence back, something Jim Hiller has stressed he wants to add more of.

Luckily, an important part of that offence just avoided disaster as William Nylander nearly found himself in trouble. After Jake McCabe had an errant shot go high, it clipped Nylander near the neck, and he could be seen grimacing as he took a breather:

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Thankfully, it looks like Nylander is going to be alright and it's just a matter of wrong place, wrong time for the Swedish superstar.

Nylander getting injured could have ended Toronto's season before it began

Part of that offensive firepower is no doubt going to be Nylander, as the veteran forward has been on a tear over the past few seasons and is coming off another fantastic season where he led the Maple Leafs in points. He could break the 50-goal mark and could cement himself as one of the greatest Toronto players of all time.

Losing him before the season even gets started would put the team in an unenviable position where they are without one of their top offensive pieces at a time where they need to show everyone that offence is their strength.

While the Maple Leafs have more than enough players who can contribute offensively, the loss of Nylander would strip the team of not only one of their most reliable and consistent goal-scorers but part of their identity, as they'd lack Nylander's breakaway ability and rush potential.

Toronto needs to tread carefully when it comes to Nylander

Avoiding injury is the best-case scenario obviously but there are some concerns about his health and what could happen this year. He missed a few weeks with a groin injury, and though he put in a strong season last year; one injury could stop him completely.

Nylander had been remarkably durable the four seasons prior to last year, missing only one game in that span. It's very likely that last year was simply a product of a bad team with a lot of bad luck, where injuries reigned supreme and players dropped like flies.

He's motivated to get back to business and he's as dedicated and passionate about winning in Toronto as anyone, but he also needs to make sure that he's taking all the necessary precautions that allow him to stay on the ice for the entire year.

For now, the Maple Leafs and Nylander avoided a catastrophic start to their 2026-27 season, and hopefully it's the first and last injury scare Toronto has during their accelerated preseason.

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