William Nylander Surprisingly Absent From Practice and the Maple Leafs Explain Why

The Leafs have had to deal with a handful of injuries through the first week of training camp, including injuries to Max Domi and Nicolas Roy, who were both sidelined with lower-body injuries.

Both Domi and Roy have since returned ro the ice, while teammate Simon Benoit has been dealing with an upper-body injury and has not been able to return to practice as of yet.

Coupled with the absence of Joseph Woll for personal reasons, that is four key players that the Leafs have been unable to get into any exhibition games. On Thursday, Domi and Roy skated with the main group at training camp, indicating that they are or close to being fully healthy, but when the team took to the ice, it was the absence of William Nylander that was quickly noticed.

Nylander played in Tuesday's pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators where he played almost 19 minutes. He subsequently took part in Wednesday's practice in his usual spot, which is why his absence on Thursday was concerning.

Nylander's sudden absence led to speculation that he too, could miss time, but some post-practice comments from Craig Berube diluted any concern.

A maintenance day is nothing out of the ordinary for the 29-year-old as it was something he has done consistently the last few years, leading to Nylander playing in all but one game over the past four seasons.

Coming off of a 45-goal, 84-point campaign last season, Nylander will look to reach the 50-goal mark for the first time in his career and help shoulder some of the offensive burden befalling the Leafs with Mitch Marner's departure.