Big William Nylander announcement comes shortly after brother joins Flames

Pierre McGuire is putting his name behind a big turnaround for William Nylander next season.

Speaking on the Toronto Sports Rush Podcast, McGuire said Nylander is going to have the biggest bounce back of any player on the Maple Leafs roster, calling it a fantastic year in the making for the winger.

This announcement comes shortly after his brother Alex joined the Calgary Flames on a PTO.

It's a bold prediction, but it's not coming out of nowhere.

Nylander still led Toronto in scoring last season even though he wasn't fully himself for stretches of it.

Nylander played just 65 games in 2025-26 after dealing with a series of physical issues, including a rough patch in December when his skating and overall engagement clearly dipped.

Even with all of that, he finished with 30 goals and 49 assists for 79 points, putting him on pace for triple digits over a full 82-game slate.

He led Toronto in scoring by eight points despite playing 17 fewer games than John Tavares.

For a player who has hit 40 goals in three straight seasons and finished second in the NHL in goals just one year earlier, last season felt like a step back even though the box score doesn't fully show it.

The Leafs are counting on a healthier, more consistent version of Nylander as they try to rebound from a disappointing finish.

He's signed through an eight year, $92 million extension he inked back in January of 2024, so he's not going anywhere.

If McGuire's read is right, Nylander could be one of the biggest storylines of the season for a Toronto team looking to reset after everything that went sideways in 2025-26.

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