William Nylander will not only be taking part in the 4 Nations Face-Off next month, but he'll also be a part of the leadership group. The Toronto Maple Leafs star was named as an alternate captain for Sweden on Thursday.

Among the NHL teammates who will be on opposite benches during the 4-Nations Face-Off include Toronto Maple Leafs stars Auston Matthews and William Nylander. Matthews, who grew up in Scottsdale, Ariz., will be representing the USA while Nylander will be representing his native Sweden.

Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander spoke about playing for Team Sweden ahead of his team's final home game before the NHL breaks for the 4 Nations Face-Off next month. Nylander was named to the team back in the summer as part of the country's 'first six' players and shared that the team has established a way to communicate.

Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning was named captain of Sweden. The other two assistant captains are Erik Karlsson of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mattias Ekholm of the Edmonton Oilers. Finland was the first team in the tournament to name its captain and assistants on Thursday.

Squaring off with nearly identical records entering Wednesday’s contest, the Toronto Maple Leafs were presented with a key opportunity to get out of a rut against a quality Minnesota Wild team, with a four-game road trip on the horizon before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.

With the 4 Nations Face-Off quickly approaching, William Nylander has fired a playful little warning shot at Maple Leafs teammate Auston Matthews. This

William Nylander scored his second goal of the game at 1:10 of overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the visiting New Jersey Devils 4-3 on Thursday night.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Toronto Maple Leafs’ William Nylander, right, celebrates after his winning goal against the New Jersey ...

Matthews and Nylander both scored two goals as Toronto battled back from 2-1 and 3-2 deficits in the third period to beat New Jersey 4-3.

Morgan Rielly is used to contributing with the puck on his stick. The Maple Leafs defenceman had a career-high 68 points a couple of years back and chipped in another 58 last season as part of a well-oiled attack.

Filip Gustavsson made 32 saves for the Minnesota Wild in a 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday. “We had really strong work ethic,” Minnesota coach John Hynes said.