William Nylander takes subtle shot at former Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe

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Cooper Godin
September 20, 2024 (8:51)

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William Nylander took a subtle shot at former Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe on Thursday.

Hockey returned to Toronto on Thursday as the Maple Leafs took to the ice for the start of their training camp. As is the case every year, expectations are high in Toronto as they look for a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs next spring.

One player that's poised to have another big year is forward William Nylander, who is coming off a career-high 98 points in 2023-24 and it appears he could be changing positions to start the year.

New Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube is going to try William Nylander out at centre, a move that's been done in the past, but the plug was pulled on it pretty quickly under the previous regime.

When meeting with the media on Thursday, Nylander spoke about his move to centre and took a subtle shot at his former head coach Sheldon Keefe, who is now the bench boss for the New Jersey Devils.

Last year, Keefe put Nylander at centre at the start of training camp, but decided to move him back to the wing not long after. Nylander was asked about why his former coach ended the experience so quickly last season and the 28-year-old replied by saying, you'll have to ask him that, with a smile on his face.

The Swedish forward is one of several players the Maple Leafs will need to be at the top of their game this season if they're hoping to have any success. General Manager Brad Treliving made some solid additions this summer to beef up the blueline and we'll have to see if those pay off for the team, especially in the playoffs when you need to be a tough, physical group to play against.

Nylander and the Maple Leafs will begin their 2024-25 campaign on October 9th against their archrivals, the Montreal Canadiens.