Leafs forward Nick Robertson pushes William Nylander into scary head contact

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Liam McCormick
September 26, 2024 (6:09 PM)

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Leafs forward Nick Robertson tried to give William Nylander a boost on a back check, but may have sent him to LTIR instead.

In a preseason game tonight against the Montreal Canadiens, Nick Robertson pushed William Nylander with his stick to assist on the back check - a normal play that occurs frequently in hockey. Instead, Nylander fell down awkwardly, and got his head smacked by a Canadiens player. Nylander left the game and has not returned.

Nylander stayed down after the contact holding his head. The concern with an injury like this off the bat is a concussion, an unpredictable injury that could hold out a star player for long term. Nylander missed playoff games last year with severe migraines that he's been dealing with, and sustaining a concussion likely won't be helpful for that problem.

Moments ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs released a statement explaining that Nylander has been removed from the game as a precaution.

Obviously it's a bad break for William Nylander to potentially sustain an injury in a meaningless game, but it's also tough for Nick Robertson. The young Leafs forward request a trade this summer, but he's struggled to actually break onto the Leafs roster and there was little interest in him. This incident won't be good for his confidence at least, and probably won't impress any pro scouts either. It's a real lose lose play for all involved.

Hopefully Nylander is okay and wasn't too seriously injured by this awkward fluke head contact. The 28 year old forward had a career year last season scoring 40 goals and 98 points, and could too that this season being healthy all year.