Maple Leafs head coach provides update on William Nylander

The Toronto Maple Leafs are moving on with one of their best players, and from the sounds of it, it could be awhile before William Nylander is available.

Leafs' head coach Craig Berube spoke to the media on Monday ahead of their matchup against the Minnesota Wild and shed some light on the status of Nylander this week, in what's the Leafs toughest week of competition of the season.

“I don’t know how long the timeline will be for him,” Berube said. “When he feels good enough to get on the ice, and he goes out there and skates, and feels good, I expect him to be back fairly quick then. Until then, I’m not sure when he’s going to be on the ice.”

Nylander is dealing with a lower-body injury and it's something that he's reaggravated this season. So far he's missed eight games combined and it sounds like he'll be out at least this week, which means another four games, including against the Wild, Red Wings, Golden Knights and Sabres.

Nylander has been on fire this season when healthy, recording 17 goals and 31 assists, for 48 points in just 37 games. The likes of Matias Maccelli, Bobby McMann, Nick Robertson, and Max Domi have stepped up in his absence, as the Leafs are riding high heading into their tough week ahead.

“It’s obviously bothering him a lot, for quite some time, and hasn’t really got much better. Other than whether he gets some breaks, Christmas time, he comes back and feels better. It’s an ongoing issue.”

Photo credit: Bob Lee, Imagn Images