It was another lost weekend for the Toronto Maple Leafs. First losing to Mitch Marner in his return to the […]
It was another lost weekend for the Toronto Maple Leafs. First losing to Mitch Marner in his return to the city to face his old mates for the first time, then getting thoroughly manhandled by the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday in a 4-1 loss.
That’s four straight defeats for the Buds after a successful West Coast trip. The frustration obviously set in for star forward William Nylander, who is currently out with a groin injury and watching from the press box. He gave the middle-finger salute to a national TV audience during the third period of Sunday’s loss.
Leafs players in the press box realized they were on the tv broadcast and William Nylander flipped the bird? 😭 pic.twitter.com/be70R2GuX0
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 25, 2026
The incident has caught the attention of the NHL’s disciplinary office (and why wouldn’t it, captured on live TV?), and insider Chris Johnston says punishment could be coming.
The NHL is looking at this William Nylander incident, per sources. It's possible the #leafs forward will face punishment for flipping the middle finger at the broadcast camera during today's game.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 26, 2026
Nylander has since apologized, calling it a "moment of frustration." pic.twitter.com/rmitPYDyd2
Nylander’s flipping of the bird called ‘childish’, ’embarrassing’
Insider Darren Dreger weighed in on it on Monday morning on First Up on TSN Radio.
To have one of your star players flip the bird at a camera during a live telecast? That wasn’t on the bingo card… Do I think it was childish? Of course, of course. Borderline disrespectful if not disrespectful? Yes… Is it (him) being annoyed at the cameras pointing directly at the press box? I guess.
Willy’s one of the leaders of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and unfortunately part of the job is dealing with the bad and the good. It was a mistake… Probably nothing comes out of it because he was swift to apologize, but overall, it’s embarrassing.
Certainly, the Leafs would much rather have Nylander on the ice than in the press box making a fool of himself (and the franchise).
That, apparently, could come as soon as the middle of this week. He was back on the ice over the weekend, skating before practice. Dreger has added that he expects to see Nylander back in uniform at least by Thursday’s game in Seattle against the Kraken. Toronto has another tough game before that, however, facing the white-hot Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
As for Willy’s return, the sooner the better for the Leafs. Nylander leads the team in scoring with 17 goals and 31 assists for 48 points in 37 games this season.
And perhaps most importantly, it’s very difficult to flip the bird while wearing a hockey glove.
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