Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Maple Leafs' Craig Berube addresses William Nylander's injury

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Oct 25, 2025 1:39 PM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs left Friday's game against the Buffalo Sabres with a loss and with their top performer out injured.

Toronto is still waiting on the status of winger William Nylander, who left Friday’s 5-3 loss to the Sabres in the third period and did not return.

The 29-year-old forward suffered a collision with a teammate near the knee area late in the game after contact from Jason Zucker and Rasmus Dahlin.

Although he attempted one more shift, Nylander was absent for Toronto’s final power play and did not rejoin the bench. It was his first game this season on Auston Matthews’ top line.

Head coach Craig Berube offered little clarity on the injury when asked postgame, leaving the door open for Nylander's absence on Saturday's rematch against Buffalo.

“Could he possibly play? Maybe,” Berube said when asked if Nylander might play. “Yeah, we’ll see. Gotta see him. I got to see tomorrow.”

The 29-year-old winger, who leads the Leafs with 14 points through eight games, scored earlier in Friday's game to extend his point streak to five games. Nylander has only failed to score at least one point once in eight games.

Toronto’s depth issues also continue to mount, with defensemen Chris Tanev and Morgan Rielly both sidelined, while goaltender Joseph Woll remains unavailable until Nov. 1 after rejoining the team on Friday morning.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (88) during a stop in play.Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports via Imagn Images

Berube praised his group’s effort despite another defeat, the third consecutive for the Leafs.

“I love the effort tonight,” Berube said. “The back end’s banged up, but guys played hard. They outscored us. That’s really the bottom line.”

Toronto enters Saturday’s contest sitting at 3–4–1 in the standings. Nylander, who hasn’t missed a regular-season game since April 2022, is listed as day-to-day with an "undisclosed" injury.

The Leafs have shuffled the lines of late, and if Nylander misses time, Berube will need to reorganize his forward lines once again shortly after moving the Swedish winger to the top line and dropping Matthew Knies to the second unit.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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