After a long standoff with the Toronto Maple Leafs, William Nylander will finally play his first game of the regular season tonight.
The 22-year-old signed a seven-year $41.4 million contract just minutes before Saturday’s RFA deadline and is set to rejoin the team shortly. But after being away from the game for so long, some are questioning whether he’s in the proper shape to return to the lineup. When asked if his forward needed a conditioning sting with the Marlies, Babcock very quickly moved onto the next question.
Guess that answers that…
It’s worth noting that Nylander has in fact been staying in shape. Since October he’s been spotted on numerous occasions practicing with the Austrian Hockey League’s Dornbirn Bulldogs. Plus… you can probably guess he’s pretty eager to get back on a line with his old pal Auston Matthews.
No one seemed more eager to have Nylander back on the squad than Babcock. The 55-year-old repeatedly expressed his belief that he’d have him back this season and ultimately got his wish.
Nylander spent 75 games with the Marlies before making the leap to the Leafs and it looks like that number will remain the same going forward (unsurprisingly).
(H/T David Nestico)
