Wing Man: William Nylander Talks Toronto Maple Leafs & Life in the City

Where is William Nylander? It was an answer Maple Leafs fans were clamouring for as the team entered the first round of the playoffs last spring. They were set to face the Boston Bruins, a historically bitter post-season rival they hadn’t beaten since 1969. Both teams featured star-studded rosters, yet it was Nylander’s calm, steady on-ice presence that many assumed would be the necessary element to extinguish past playoff demons. Still, through the first three games, Nylander was nowhere to be found. The media frenzy was met with stoic silence from his coaches and teammates, while the star forward sat helplessly in his Yorkville apartment.

After not missing a game since 2016, leading up to the team’s series against Boston, Nylander began suffering from blinding migraines. “We had to be extra cautious, in case it [was] a concussion,” Nylander explains in Faceoff: Inside the NHL, a new Prime Video docuseries that centres around the Swedish star in its premiere episode. “It was tough, but knowing how I was feeling, I wouldn’t have been any help, either.”

Nylander returned for the final four games of the seven-game series, where the Leafs fell for the seventh consecutive time to the Bruins in a heartbreaking overtime loss. Nearly six months removed from the loss, Nylander still winces at the memory.

“I grew up with my dad playing professionally, so we moved around a lot growing up. Toronto is the first place where I really felt home,” he says. “These fans, they’re crazy. They’re the most passionate fans in the world. I know how much those losses hurt, especially to Boston. But I hope they know it kills me, too. Fuck, man. It really does.”

We’re seated for lunch at Yorkville’s ONE Restaurant, just a short walk from his home. It’s the start of what will be Nylander’s 10th season with the Leafs. Since being selected eighth overall by Toronto in the 2014 NHL Draft, Nylander shuffled around the city before planting roots in Yorkville. “I lived at The Four Seasons, The St. Regis for a bit, The Ritz-Carlton. I lived at Bloor St. W. and Jane St., for a while. I actually really liked the west side. That was fun. I moved around the city because that just felt normal. My whole childhood was that. You know? My dad could get traded at any time. So, when I realized I could have a long future here, I needed to find a spot to settle.”

Over the past few years, the 28-year-old has become a bonafide star. Last season, his point totals reached all-time highs, earning him his first All-Star selection and an eight-year, $92-million contract extension. It was the largest contract in Toronto’s franchise history but, more importantly for Nylander, it included a no-movement clause, meaning the Leafs couldn’t trade him without his approval.

“I get it. The money gets the headlines. But for me, the contract was so much more of a message from the team and the city saying, ‘We want you here. We want to win a championship with you,’ ” he says. “I hope signing it was a clear message back that I want to be here. This is it. This is home.”

Part of making Toronto home is his concerted effort to keep his feet on the ground, in a literal sense. As shown in the docuseries, board the TTC on any given game day and there’s a chance Nylander will be riding alongside you. Pop into Sugo on a Friday night and you’ll see Nylander in his usual spot, posted up by the window, watching a pay-per-view fight. Visit Queen’s Park on an idle Saturday afternoon and you might pass him and his dogs, Pablo and Banksy, out for their daily walk. “I’d be walking with them right now if it wasn’t for this,” he laughs.

The dogs, as Nylander explains, help put things in perspective. In a city where hockey holds more emotional baggage than anywhere else in the world, competing at the highest level takes its toll. “They’re a hugely important part of my life. It’s about taking care of someone else other than yourself. Regardless of what else is happening — whether I just made the biggest play of my life, or we just had our hearts broken in the playoffs — they’re going to love me the same. It puts things in perspective. When they need attention and love, fuck everything else. Forget about it. Let’s go for a walk.”

For any Toronto athlete, the spotlight burns bright. But for a Maple Leaf, the distinction holds a different weight entirely. “I’d obviously followed hockey throughout my childhood but all I really paid attention to was where my dad played. I had no idea what it meant to get drafted by the Leafs. Then, I got here as an 18-year-old, and it was a complete culture shock. The market, the history, the generations of fans. Really, I don’t think there’s anything like it in sports.”

He recalls the first moment he touched down in Toronto. He was heading to a rookie development camp in the city and stopped by a downtown hotel to drop his bags off. “I’ve been in this city for maybe 15 minutes,” he says. “I leave the hotel and walk down the street to grab Chipotle and this tour bus drives by and the driver pulls out a microphone and says, ‘The Leafs’ William Nylander is on your left.’ Like, what the fuck man,” he laughs. “I’m barely a Leaf. I’m barely even in the city yet. But that’s the culture man. […] It’s what makes it so unique. It just matters more.”

For decades, the franchise has perpetually fallen short of expectations while, at the same time, implausibly raising them the following year. It’s been 57 years since the franchise has won a Stanley Cup, the longest drought in league history. Still, through heartbreaking losses, blinding migraines, and championship hopes left unfulfilled, Leafs fans never wavered when it came to their star winger.

“The city and the fans have always been so good to me. I think it’s because they know I’m right there with them. It’s why I love living downtown, stopping to talk, being surrounded by people. I want to feel connected, like we’re in it together.”

As his stock continues to rise and with a new contract freshly inked, off-ice distractions loom around every corner (future docuseries, business ventures, and the opportunities that only come with big-market stardom). But when asked what else this year might entail, Nylander’s smile drops. He goes stoic, the way he was while forced to watch the playoffs from home last spring.

“When it’s all said and done, I just want to be the guy that was on the team that won the Cup for us. Forget about everything else. That would be the only thing that would matter. That’s why I signed here. I want to win a championship more than anything.”

And Toronto, after an agonizing 57-year drought, is the best place to do it?

“It’s the only place to do it.”

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