The Toronto Maple Leafs are working their way through the preseason as they try to finalize their opening-night roster for the 2024-25 season, and fans continue to watch the potential future of their team with prospects showcasing themselves in a big way. While the preseason is often a chance to see how some youngsters fare against greater competition, it also gives the veterans a chance to get their feet wet and touch up some small parts of their game before the regular season.
Nick Robertson, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
However, there was an incident in a recent preseason game that led to William Nylander going down with a minor injury after Nicholas Robertson pushed him with his stick to give him a boost for a puck battle. Since Nylander wasn’t ready for it, he fell and collided with a Montreal Canadiens player. He seemed to be okay, and the injury wasn’t something he needed to deal with long-term, but it still worried Maple Leafs fans. He mentioned the incident never led to any issues in the room or between himself and Robertson, but he made it known he didn’t believe the push was needed.
Maple Leafs fans went through a major injury scare a couple of seasons ago when John Tavares had a freak accident and ended up unconscious on the ice in one of the most awkward injury situations ever seen in the NHL. As he seemed to be trying to get up on his own after colliding with two players, he lost consciousness as the medical staff attempted to bring him to his feet, freaking out commentators, former general manager Kyle Dubas, and fans as Tavares began to fall backward with his body seemingly limp.
Tavares ended up being okay, but seeing Nylander go down and get hit in the head by another player in what was another freak accident had to remind some fans of the Tavares incident. Thankfully, both Nylander and Tavares ended up being okay in each of their respective accidents.
Nylander & Robertson Expected to Have Massive 2024-25 Campaigns
Trade rumours surrounding Robertson have died down now after he was re-signed by the Maple Leafs on a new one-year contract, and many fans are expecting him to finally break out offensively if he can stay healthy. The new deal he signed could be seen as a “prove it” deal as he has yet to find himself a full-time spot at the NHL level, and still hasn’t spent an entire season without starting in or being sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL). Last season, he had 11 points in nine games in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies, and 27 points in 56 games with the Maple Leafs.
Nylander had a strong 2023-24 campaign scoring 40 goals and adding 58 assists for 98 points through 82 games, and is going to be leaned on to provide the same amount of production offensively, if not more. The Maple Leafs went out and bolstered their depth with Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson to strengthen their blue line, as well as signing Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Anthony Stolarz who should stabilize their depth between the pipes.
Either way, both Robertson and Nylander are going to have a ton of pressure on themselves to help lead the Maple Leafs to their first Stanley Cup since 1967. With their current core likely having one more chance at winning a championship before management decides to make a major change, those two forwards will be key factors to their success this season. Hopefully, Robertson can stay healthy and break out offensively, and Nylander can elevate his two-way game to a level we haven’t seen from him yet.
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