William Nylander expected to be traded after Toronto's decision leaves him unable to play more hockey

William Nylander can be a polarizing figure for Toronto Maple Leafs fans. Nylander possesses elite talent that he can seemingly turn on at a moments notice. However it's his compete level that drives coaches and fans absolutely crazy at times.

One thing you can say about Nylander is that he doesn't love the game. Nylander does everything possible to play as much hockey as possible. As soon as the Maple Leafs season ended, Nylander made it clear that he wanted to immediately join Team Sweden at the World Hockey Championships.

Nylander was expected to join fellow teammate Timothy Liljegren for the tournament. Surprisingly Liljegren arrived, but Nylander never followed. Some assumed it could be a delay in paperwork, but that is clearly not the case.

Today Gord Miller of TSN reported the following information:




Reports from Sweden state Nylander had received a request to join the team and had accepted the invite. However, it now appears the Maple Leafs may have shutdown Nylander's request. This likely because the team intends to trade him this offseason and if he's injured that becomes an issue. Especially with his no trade clause set to kick in on July 1st.