{"id":453970,"date":"2026-02-11T02:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/453970\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T02:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:45:21","slug":"analysts-call-for-maple-leafs-to-pull-nylander-from-olympics-the-hockey-writers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/453970\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysts Call for Maple Leafs to Pull Nylander From Olympics – The Hockey Writers –"},"content":{"rendered":"

The uncertainty surrounding William Nylander<\/a>\u2019s status ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics has ignited a heated debate among NHL analysts, with some arguing the Toronto Maple Leafs should shut him down entirely. The conversation was a hot topic on TSN OverDrive on Tuesday<\/a>, with one host suggesting the Maple Leafs should pull Nylander from the games. <\/p>\n

Jeff O\u2019Neill was blunt when the topic came up. \u201cI would tell him to get his a\u2013 home. It\u2019s over,\u201d O\u2019Neill said. \u201cIf there was kind of any question, I would just say, \u2018You\u2019re done.\u2019\u201d As it stands right now, Nylander (groin) will be a game-time decision for Wednesday\u2019s game vs. Italy<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Wrong with Nylander?<\/p>\n

Nylander, who traveled to Italy to represent Team Sweden, has yet to resume skating, and the lack of clarity about his injury has only fueled concern about what might be wrong with him. Adding to the mystery, members of the Swedish team \u2014 including Maple Leafs teammate Oliver Ekman-Larsson \u2014 have offered little information when asked. Bryan Hayes suggested Ekman-Larsson was acting coy about Nylander\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n

According to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cIt\u2019s a maintenance thing,\u201d head coach Sam Hallam said after practice. \u201cHe\u2019s done two full ice practices with us and felt, after yesterday, a bit sore, so we\u2019ll just give him an extra day. And then we\u2019ll see for tomorrow if he\u2019s ready to go. It\u2019s going to be a pretty late decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

source \u2013 \u2018Sweden \u2018not overly concerned\u2019 after William Nylander misses Olympic hockey practice\u2019 \u2013 Pierre LeBrun \u2013 The Athletic \u2013 02-10-2026<\/p>\n

\"TorontoToronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

That uncertainty is making people uneasy<\/a>, and it should be a concern for the Maple Leafs. No one outside the team seems to know exactly what Nylander is dealing with. Is this a minor issue that simply requires rest? Or is it something more serious that could linger well beyond the Olympics?<\/p>\n

Can the Maple Leafs Pull Nylander? \u2026 Should They?<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill acknowledged how meaningful the Olympics are to players, but questioned the risk involved, especially given Nylander\u2019s importance to Toronto.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he grinds it out, makes it worse, and then comes back and can\u2019t go for the Leafs, that\u2019s a problem,\u201d O\u2019Neill said, pointing out Nylander earns $11.5 million per season with Toronto. <\/p>\n

Jamie McLennan said he\u2019s not sure what the Leafs can or should do. \u201cYou\u2019re damned if you do, damned if you don\u2019t,\u201d McLennan said.<\/p>\n

Related: NHL Rumors: Tuch Gamble, Canadiens Plan B, Maple Leafs and Hamilton<\/a><\/p>\n

If Nylander sits out, he risks missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he plays hurt, he could compromise the remainder of his NHL season \u2014 or worse.<\/p>\n

Bryan Hayes argued that there might not be much the Maple Leafs can do. \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s up to Nylander,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cIf he wants to risk it playing for Team Sweden, there\u2019s not much Toronto can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayes pointed out that the NHL Players\u2019 Association pushed for Olympic participation, which limits how much control teams actually have. In this scenario, the Leafs can only hope Nylander is mature enough to make the right call for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s too important to Sweden,\u201d Hayes added. \u201cHe knows that. There\u2019s going to be pressure from inside that group to get him playing.\u201d If he feels like he can go, it\u2019s fair to assume that Nylander is going to push it. <\/p>\n

Does It Really Matter Anyway?<\/p>\n

Perhaps context matters here. Toronto\u2019s position in the standings complicates the situation, as the Maple Leafs sit well outside the playoff picture. The likelihood they get in is slim, and Nylander may not feel the same obligation to prioritize the NHL season.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a somewhat valid argument. If Nylander feels Toronto\u2019s season is lost, and he\u2019s got a small window to play in the Olympic Games, he\u2019s probably prioritizing the latter. From Toronto\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s a problematic scenario. A compromised Nylander returning at less than 100 percent doesn\u2019t help a team already fighting uphill.<\/p>\n

McLennan believes there\u2019s something bigger going on. If true, that alone makes this a big storyline worth watching. <\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The uncertainty surrounding William Nylander\u2019s status ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics has ignited a heated debate among…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432890,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[3189,5,20,5172,4,180,66,31,5171,1114],"class_list":{"0":"post-453970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-2026-winter-olympics","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-maple-leafs","11":"tag-mapleleafs","12":"tag-nhl","13":"tag-team-sweden","14":"tag-toronto","15":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","16":"tag-torontomapleleafs","17":"tag-william-nylander"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116049709119381522","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=453970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/453970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=453970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=453970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=453970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}