William Nylander finds silver lining in Maple Leafs’ playoff run despite Stanley Cup heartbreak by Panthers

Toronto Maple Leafs star winger William Nylander opened up about his feelings regarding the disappointing end to his team’s season during the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Nylander and the Maple Leafs lost a tough seven-game, second-round series to the eventual Cup champion Florida Panthers.

NHL.com caught up with William Nylander during a current European tour with other NHLers, doing the media rounds ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season. He stated:

“It was probably one of our best seasons since I’ve been in Toronto,” Nylander declared. “I mean, we pushed Florida to the limit. We had a couple of (bad) games against them, Games 5 and 7, but for the most part, we were right there in that series. So I think we can really build off that and learn from what we did wrong to be better in those situations.”

The Maple Leafs were blown out in Game 5 against the Panthers, then returned with a masterful 2-0 shutout of the Panthers in Game 6. That forced a Game 7. William Nylander and the Maple Leafs were unfortunately unable to exorcise the demons of Game 7's past.

Heading into this upcoming season, Nylander reminded the media of what he stated for NHL.com back in 2019:

“I’m looking forward to dominate.”

A Rocket Richard Trophy may not be outside of the realm of possibility if Nylander has his way. Although a Stanley Cup would be much better.

William Nylander offers insights into Marner’s departure from Toronto

Nylander and Marner will face off against each other in January 2026 - Source: Imagn

William Nylander also offered interesting insights into Mitch Marner’s departure from Toronto this summer during his media availability:

The 29-year-old star said:

“I actually asked him during the season and he said he was concentrating on Toronto. I didn’t want to press him on that and let him be because it was obviously on his mind, but his play was focused on helping us. Then I asked him after the season and he wasn’t sure.”

Despite the way things turned out, there are no hard feelings between Nylander and Marner. Nylander cleared the air by stating:

“It’s tough seeing him go but I’m so happy for him and his family. He got to pick where he went so, in that aspect, I’m happy for him. We’re going to miss him a lot but that’s just the business of the sport. That’s the way it is. So we’ve got to regroup as a team and figure out a way to keep winning games.”

Nylander and Marner will lock horns when the Maple Leafs and Golden Knights meet on January 15 at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas. The two longtime friends will face off against one another again on January 23 at Scotiabank Arena.

That event will surely be met with plenty of media hype, as it will make Marner’s return to Toronto for the first time since signing with the Golden Knights.