The Toronto Maple Leafs have begun to turn things around of late, winning five of their last eight games and looking more like the playoff contenders that many thought they would be prior to the start of the 2025–26 season. However, with new information provided on an injury to star winger William Nylander, Leafs fans may have some cause for worry once again.
Nylander injury update
For context, Nylander sustained a groin injury during Toronto’s Jan. 15 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, picking up a goal and an assist before the injury occurred. Nylander has not played in the team’s two games since the injury, and on Monday, Leafs coach Craig Berube provided a potentially worrisome update on Nylander’s timeline for a return.
“I don’t know how long the timeline will be for him… I’m not sure when he’s going to be on the ice,” Berube said.
Nylander has been a huge bright spot for Toronto this season, putting up 17 goals, 31 assists and 48 points, the highest point total on the team. And with the Leafs already in a tough spot this season after a subpar start, losing their top point scorer for an undetermined amount of time is definitely not what the team and fans had hoped for.
To make matters worse, Nylander isn’t the only Leaf currently out with an injury. Defencemen Chris Tanev and Simon Benoit are both out, with Tanev on the injured reserve. Matthew Knies is battling an injury, Dakota Joshua is on the injured reserve, and goaltender Anthony Stolarz is injured as well. Quite the laundry list of absences for Toronto, with Nylander’s absence only making matters worse.
Potential hope
It will be undeniably hard for the Leafs to fully turn their season around and be serious playoff threats with the current injuries they have, even with the team not being far out of the playoff picture—just one point out from a wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference—but there is a glimmer of hope in the form of Leafs captain Auston Matthews.
Prior to the New Year, Matthews was solid, but not at the level of his Rocket Richard-winning 2023–24 season that saw him put up a career best 69 goals and 107 points. From Oct. 7 to Dec. 31, Matthews had 15 goals and 27 points in 33 games—0.82 points per game. But since Jan. 1, Matthews has turned things up quite a bit, with nine goals and 13 points in nine games—1.44 points per game. And when you look at some of his performances in the new year, like his three-goal, four-point performance against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 1, it is clear that Matthews has returned to form, and his teammates, including former team captain John Tavares, have taken notice of his efforts on both ends of the ice.
“He’s a special player, not just goal scoring, but he’s dominating the puck and controlling the play, doing so many things well,” Tavares said. “He’s just such a driver and does so many things well. He drives the team in so many facets, whether it’s offensively or defensively. He has the will to compete, to find the way to earn results and continue to grind things out.”
Can he keep it going?
Rave reviews from an elite veteran like Tavares show real recognition and evidence of the impact Matthews has had on the team in the new year. But with so many players currently sidelined, including Nylander for an undetermined amount of time, it will remain to be seen if Matthews’ elite play can continue and ultimately carry the Leafs to strings of wins during this injury-ridden time. If Matthews is able to keep up the pace, or go even further, the Leafs could potentially be in a wild-card position when Nylander ultimately returns to the lineup.
